Release Denied : Judge Keeps Killer Under Tight Rein

A North Hollywood woman who brutally killed her mother and attempted to kill her daughter in 1980 was ordered Wednesday to remain in a mental hospital, despite recommendations from county and state officials that she be released.

After five of the woman’s relatives submitted letters to Van Nuys Superior Court urging that she be kept in the hospital for life, Judge Darlene Schempp agreed that Arlyne Louise Genger, 42, remains a potential threat to the community and to her family.

“I am not convinced that the public safety at this time can be assured,” Schempp said.

Schempp ordered Genger’s continued confinement in Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino, although three mental health professionals testified that Genger has made substantial progress and that she is ready to enter a less secure treatment program.

Committed to Patton

A Superior Court judge on Jan. 29, 1981, found Genger not guilty by reason of insanity and ordered her committed to Patton for life or until she is determined by a court to be sane.

Wednesday’s ruling came on Genger’s first petition for release. She will be eligible for another hearing in six months.

Although Genger at first denied killing her mother and assaulting her 13-year-old daughter on New Year’s Day, 1980, she has since admitted that she committed the attacks, court records show.

Genger’s mother, Alice Louise Leidig, was stabbed 22 times and had numerous bite marks on her body, according to an autopsy report.

Genger’s daughter, Selena, testified at a preliminary hearing in 1980 that she saw her mother repeatedly stab Leidig in the family’s North Hollywood apartment. Selena Genger said her mother then turned on her, forcing her to take five pills from a prescription bottle before slashing her in the neck with a razor blade.

The only testimony Wednesday came from two officials at Patton and one official from the county Department of Mental Health. All recommended that Genger be placed in a counseling program to prepare her to live on her own.

Richard Romanoff, a clinical psychologist for the county’s Judicially Committed Persons Program, testified that, when Genger first entered Patton, she was “at the very upper ranges of a psychotic break . . . about as crazy as people get when they are crazy.”

Genger at first accused her daughter of taking part in the murder and blamed her mother for giving her what she thought was leukemia, Romanoff testified.

Since then, Romanoff said, Genger has experienced “dramatic changes.” She admits committing the crimes and shows remorse, he said. She displays no signs of paranoia and has exhibited no violence while at Patton, he said.

Genger takes 50 milligrams of an anti-psychotic drug each day, Romanoff said, describing that as a “standard maintenance dose.”

‘Easy to Escape From’

Romanoff recommended that Genger be released from Patton and placed in a 60-day program at the Hillview Residential Center in Pacoima. Romanoff said she would be supervised 24 hours a day by live-in staff, but that the center is “relatively easy to escape from.”

Romanoff said that, if she were successful in that program, Genger should be transferred to a less supervised board-and-care facility for at least a year before being allowed to live on her own.

Romanoff recommended that she be required to undergo twice-weekly psychotherapy for about five years.

Although Romanoff strongly recommended Genger’s release from Patton, he cautioned, “In the end, whenever I make a recommendation, I cross my fingers. You never know. You’re always hoping for the best.”

Letters Ordered Sealed

Schempp ordered the family’s letters sealed, calling them “privileged communication.” But testimony Wednesday disclosed that the letters pleaded with the judge to keep Genger in the mental hospital.

Richard Cookston, a cousin of Genger’s, said outside the courtroom that no relatives testified at the hearing because they are “terrified” of Genger.

“Who knows when she will strike,” Cookston said. “She’s a threat to society, there’s no doubt about it. She’s an extremely intelligent person. She’s got these doctors conned.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Imerman said Genger’s daughter is living in another country and asked that her mother never contact her again.