Judge Says Alleged Shrink Killer Must Take Drugs

The man who is suspected of killing an Upper East Side psychiatrist and injuring her colleague will be given his anti-psychotic and mood-stabilizing medication by court order. State Supreme Court Justice John E.H. Stackhouse granted Bellevue doctors permission to medicate David Tarloff, who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia.

Tarloff allegedly fatally slashed Dr. Kathryn Faughey with a meat cleaver, and also attacked Dr. Kent Shinbach, who tried to intervene. Shinbach, who survived, had hospitalized Tarloff 20 years ago, leading police to believe he was Tarloff's intended target. Tarloff's own family has noted is on-off use of medication.

At a hearing last week, Tarloff told the court, "If a fireman comes in, the police come in here, the mayor calls, anyone sends a messenger, they are lying. The police are trying to kill me,” and the judge had him removed. During yesterday's hearing, a psychiatrist told the judge Tarloff has repeatedly refused to be examined. The Daily News also reported Tarloff "was put in seclusion last week after he stripped naked and threatened to kill staffers and his roommate."

While Tarloff's defense lawyer said he didn't oppose medicating his client (in the interest of advancing the case), another defense lawyer, Ron Kuby, told the Times, "When the jury sees your client sitting there calmly, peacefully, sort of blankly staring, that person then looks sane. But that’s a chemically induced stability designed to make the judicial railroad function.”