Déjà vu

Psychologist disputes teen shooter’s mental health symptoms:

Some interesting testimony out of John Jason McLaughlin’s insanity trial…

A psychologist testified Friday that high school shooter John Jason McLaughlin faked his schizophrenic symptoms months before his murder trial and took his cues from movies and television.

Haven’t I heard that somewhere before?

Prosecutors played a clip from the movie “The Sixth Sense,” in which the young lead character says, “I see dead people,” in claiming that McLaughlin is faking mental illness and that popular culture, movies and TV, have inspired the symptoms he’s reported.

McLaughlin has reported similar hallucinations, according to court documents. He has described dead people dressed like Pilgrims hanging in the detention center where he has been held.

The movie clip showed three dead people hanging in a stairwell at a school attended by the character. The bodies are dressed in old-fashioned clothing. Psychologist Kelly Wilson, a prosecution witness, said she believed McLaughlin got the idea from the movie.

I swear I’ve heard that somewhere before.

Wilson testified that the movie “A Beautiful Mind” may have been where McLaughlin got the idea to say he has seen drug enforcement-type people living in the woods near his Cold Spring home.

“A Beautiful Mind” is about a mathematician with a mental illness who thought he met government agents in remote settings.

Ok, now that sounds really familiar.

Oh yeah, I remember where I’ve heard that before. This very website.

A mother of a student who was at Rocori at the time of the shooting made the Sixth Sense correlation here.

And I had a commenter claiming to be a family member of McLaughlin’s that prattled on about “A Beautiful Mind” here and here. I wondered why. Now I know.

Wilson, with the Minnesota State Security Hospital in St. Peter, also noted that McLaughlin has said his hands turn tie-dye colors underwater. She said this idea has been featured on the long-running TV cartoon “The Simpsons.”

I don’t remember that episode. Anyone care to enlighten me?

Asked if there’s evidence McLaughlin has seen the movies and the TV show, prosecutor David Voigt said, “stay tuned.”

The prosecution plans to call witnesses that will say that the teen has seen the movies and TV show. On Friday, Wilson testified that McLaughlin’s family owns the movie “A Beautiful Mind.” It also appears as though McLaughlin has seen both movies at the detention center.

Well, well, well.

As Mr. Voigt said…” Stay tuned”.