Murder on the Menu

The event: “Mystery Loves Company,” a lively whodunit benefiting the Mental Health Assn. of Orange County. The thriller was held Saturday at the landmark Old Orange County Courthouse in Santa Ana.

O.C. confidential: Murder and mayhem were on the menu for the 100 fun-loving guests who dressed in everything from detective- to gangster-gear. Their assignment: uncover the culprits. Three people were “knocked off” at the affair, two during dinner. But justice would also be served. After dessert, clue sheets in hand, the amateur sleuths sat in the courtroom to watch a trial, complete with judge and jury.

On the stand: Wanting to “put a little more oomph into association events,” benefit chairwoman Cathy Winans of Seal Beach confessed to planning the caper. “We needed something different, and this is engaging, interactive,” said Winans, who, like her husband, Bill Shaddle, was dressed in a classic trench coat and black fedora. “I’m wearing one of my husband’s old London Fogs,” she noted. “He just bought a new one.”

The whole truth: The Mental Health Assn. serves more than 5,000 of Orange County’s mentally ill. Their diseases include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression. “A lot of people have the misconception that persons with severe mental illness have it as a result of poor parenting or weak moral char- acter,” said Sandra Cusmano, the association’s director of de- velopment. “But that is not the case. Nor is it because of a lack of proper nurturing. In fact, mental illness is the result of an organic brain disorder which can be caused by a chemical imbalance.”

Quote: “One of the biggest misconceptions about mental illness is that people can choose whether they are mentally ill,” said Carol Burby, the association’s executive director, “that they can just pull themselves up by their bootstraps. The reality is that it’s something people have no control over. There is no cure, but, with medication their symptoms can be controlled.”

On the guest list: Mary Anderson; Marty Fuca; Vicky Glass; Jojo Guerin; Rose Margulieux; Lina Nabahani; Martine Pierro; Nanette Zumwalt; Dr. Rimal Bera; Dr. William Callahan; Maclay Burt; Dr. Mike McKinnon; Gary Hardwick; Linda Graham; Eric Rabjohns; Dr. Craig Ross; and Gerry Fried.

Bottom line: Proceeds of about $18,000 will go toward association programs, which include vocational rehabilitation, job development and placement, a transitional housing program and homeless services.

What’s next: In February, the association will honor volunteers at its annual Thomas F. Riley community service awards luncheon. For information: (714) 547-7559.