By Josh Stockinger
9/13/2012
After he witnessed a military accident that left eight dead and more than 150 injured, Michael Delaney developed “hyper-arousal and overreaction to perceived threats,” his attorneys say.
Now, a DuPage County judge must decide whether that’s relevant to his murder case.
Delaney is accused of fatally stabbing neighbor Todd Scalzo during a June 2009 confrontation outside the victim’s apartment building on Crescent Avenue in Wheaton. At his upcoming trial, defense attorneys want Judge Daniel Guerin to allow testimony that post-traumatic stress disorder factored into the killing.
Assistant Public Defender Brian Jacbos said a psychologist is prepared to testify the disorder “affects the way (Delaney) perceives things happening” and largely influenced his actions the day of the slaying. He said the defense would seek a lesser conviction of second-degree murder because Delaney believed he was acting in self-defense.
Delaney, a 49-year-old Army veteran, says he was traumatized after taking part in Operation Gallant Eagle, a 1982 military exercise in the Mojave Desert of California that reportedly left three soldiers and five paratroopers dead. But prosecutors said he also cites a car accident he was involved in as a teen and a fear of parachuting as causes of his diagnosis. read more here
During Gallant Eagle '82, I was with the 950th MAINT CO - a reserve Unit out of Van Nuys, CA. CPT John C. Staagard and 1SG De La Torriente was my chain of CMD. We were out in Bicycle lake during that drop. My CO (CPT Staugard) was a helicopter pilot UH-1H (Huey) during that time. I remember very well that he brought in 7 bodies to be taken to Dewitt Army Hospital. And I recall with distinct clarity that 27 died that morning. I had CQ duty that night before the drop. It was snowing/raining and there was a lot of wind. Even the Portapotties were blown down by the wind, to include a GP Medium which included which housed our senior NCO's. I was 21 years old at the time.
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