Lawyer plans on insanity defense

Judge orders Burbank man to stand trial for stabbing death of his 86-year-old mother.PASADENA -- An insanity defense will be used in the murder case of a Burbank man charged with the stabbing death of his mother, his defense attorney said Wednesday.

Following a brief preliminary hearing, Pasadena Superior Court Judge Michelle Rosenblatt found there was enough evidence against Michael Beauregard to take the case to trial.

Beauregard, 60, is scheduled to appear in court again on Jan. 5 for an arraignment.

“We expect we’ll enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity as well as not guilty,” defense attorney Steve Meister said.

Beauregard was arrested Jan. 13 following a 911 call from inside the home in the 2100 block of Rose Street where he lived with his mother.

He is being held in the Los Angeles County Jail on $1.2 million bond.

Cora Beauregard, 86, was found stabbed to death in the kitchen of the home, Burbank Police Det. Brent Dyrness said.

Outside court, Meister explained that his questioning to Dyrness was to establish that his client had made no attempt to clean up the murder scene or hide the weapon allegedly used to kill his mother.

A knife was protruding from Cora Beauregard’s neck when he saw her body in the kitchen, Dyrness testified.

He also could not find any evidence that garments were used to clean up any blood at the scene, Dyrness said.

Also testifying during the hearing were Burbank Police Det. Ronald Miller, who attended the autopsy of Cora Beauregard; and Michelle McCord, a Burbank Police communications supervisor who spoke with Beauregard by phone during the 911 call.

Beauregard was unemployed and lived with his mother, a resident of the neighborhood for 40 years.

The next step in the case is for the court to appoint experts for both the defense and prosecution, who will examine Beauregard to determine how the case will proceed, Meister said.

If the case goes to trial, there are two phases -- the first to determine guilt or innocence of the crime charged and the second to determine the sanity of the defendant, Meister said.

In that second phase, the burden of proof is shifted to the defense to show that the person charged is insane, Meister said.

“Sometimes these cases will resolve short of trial especially when there is a concurrence by the experts,” Meister added.