Stephen H. Kessler (born 1935) is a person who was known as the "LSD Killer".

Education

He attended Harvard College and graduated class of '57, and was enrolled in Downstate Medical School in 1964, but was asked to leave because of his unstable behaviour.

Stephen H. Kessler

Trial

He was arrested in April 1966 and tried for murder in October, having apparently stabbed his mother-in-law 105 times. Headlines trumpeted him as a "Mad LSD Slayer" and "LSD Killer", based on a statement made during his arrest that he had been "flying for three days on LSD". His LSD usage, a month prior, was not mentioned during the trial proceedings. His drug use was revealed as having been "one-and-a-half grains of phenobarbital" and "three quarts of lab alcohol".

Stephen H. Kessler

Psychiatrists testified that he actually had chronic paranoid schizophrenia and he was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Stephen H. Kessler

See also

Maurice Edelbaum, one of Kessler's lawyers

References

External links

1935 births

Living people

Harvard College alumni

Harvard Medical School alumni

SUNY Downstate Medical Center alumni