Insane Killer Ordered Into Mental Hospital
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SANTA ANA — An insane Santa Ana man who clubbed his wife and baby daughter to death with a champagne bottle was ordered to a mental hospital by a judge who urged lifelong confinement.
Joseph Lynch, 44, remained in Orange County Jail on Tuesday, awaiting transfer to Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino, a jail official said.
During a hearing Monday, Superior Court Judge Francisco Briseno ordered Lynch confined to the hospital.
Under state law, Lynch must remain in a state mental hospital until doctors determine that he is no longer insane.
On May 8, the judge convicted the Scottish-born electrical engineer of two counts of second-degree murder in the bludgeoning deaths of his Australian-born wife, Helen, 35, and his daughter, Natalie Alexandra, 13 months, in their Santa Ana condominium on Jan. 16, 1989.
But Briseno declared Lynch innocent by reason of insanity, so his record contains no conviction, officials said.
The initial finding of guilt allows the state to confine Lynch for life, Deputy Dist. Atty. James P. Cloninger added.
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