A defense psychiatrist testified Monday that he believed stabbing victim Contrell Townsend was in the grips of the manic phase of his long-term bipolar disorder when he and fellow student Marcus Richardson fought in the Montbello High School cafeteria.
“To me, it sounded like he was completely out of control,” said Dr. Peter Mayerson, a University of Colorado Medical School professor of psychiatry.
People with bipolar disorder “often get very irritable, angry and get in many fights,” Mayerson said. “I see a lot of people in prison who committed violent crimes in a manic state.”
Mayerson said Townsend was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder when he was 10 and that his school history showed he had been involved “in all sorts of disruptions” over the years.
Townsend, 17, was stabbed three times by Richardson, then 16, on Jan. 4, 2005. Richardson is on trial for second-degree murder in Denver District Court.
Richardson maintains he acted in self-defense, and his attorney called a series of students and former students who testified that Townsend was the aggressor.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
