Overview
- Two court-appointed psychologists concluded that David Hoetzlein met the legal standard for insanity and prosecutors did not object to their findings.
- The judge accepted the evaluations on Aug. 13 and ordered Hoetzlein to be placed indefinitely in a maximum-security state mental hospital for treatment.
- Hoetzlein admitted in court that he strangled his mother, Tomoko Hoetzlein, whose dismembered remains were found June 3, 2022, in a dumpster outside their Camarillo apartment.
- The family has filed a federal wrongful-death and civil-rights lawsuit alleging that Vista del Mar and county officials released Hoetzlein on May 31, 2022 with a faulty diagnosis and prescriptions, claims the hospital and county deny.
- Hoetzlein will return to court on Aug. 27 when MHM Services of California will recommend a specific treatment facility and his confinement will be reviewed periodically with release only if experts determine he is no longer dangerous.