Man Charged in Grandmother’s 2023 Killing Committed to Inpatient Treatment at State Mental Health Hospital After Being Found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity

NORFOLK, Va. — A judge on March 7 committed David Martel MacRonald, 36, to a state mental health hospital for treatment after finding Mr. MacRonald not guilty by reason of insanity for the murder of Mr. MacRonald’s grandmother in 2023.

Mr. MacRonald, who has a history of mental illness, beat to death 84-year-old Liu-Chih Howell at some point between the mornings of June 12 and June 13, 2023. Mr. MacRonald was living with Ms. Howell on Dominion Avenue in Norfolk at the time. Ms. Howell’s daughter (Mr. MacRonald’s mother) last saw Ms. Howell alive and uninjured when she visited their residence around 11 a.m. on June 12, 2023. When Ms. Howell’s daughter came back to the residence around the same time the following morning, she found Ms. Howell cold and dead on the couch with significant injuries to her face. Ms. Howell’s subsequent autopsy showed that she had suffered numerous internal injuries as well, including broken ribs.

Mr. MacRonald told police that, before Ms. Howell died, he had heard a thud in their laundry room while he was listening to music in a different room. He claimed that, about an hour after the thud, he went to the laundry room, saw Ms. Howell on the floor bleeding and barely responsive, and picked her up to carry her to the couch. A medical examiner determined that Ms. Howell’s injuries and cause of death were not consistent with a bad fall and ruled her death a homicide.

While Mr. MacRonald’s case was pending trial, his defense counsel requested pursuant to Virginia law that a doctor evaluate Mr. MacRonald to determine whether he was legally insane at the time he killed his grandmother. The court ordered that evaluation, and the doctor determined that Mr. MacRonald was in fact legally insane at the time of his offense.

In Virginia, a defendant is legally insane if — at time of their crime and because of “mental disease or defect” — they could not understand the nature or consequences of their actions, they were unable to distinguish right from wrong, or they were unable to resist an impulse to commit the actions. Both psychotic disorders and intellectual disabilities qualify as a mental disease or defect.

After receiving notice from the defense of the results of Mr. MacRonald’s first evaluation, the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office requested pursuant to Virginia law that the court appoint a second doctor to perform a separate evaluation. That doctor also determined that Mr. MacRonald was legally insane when he killed his grandmother.

Based on both doctors’ reports, Mr. MacRonald entered a plea agreement in December 2024 requesting to be found not guilty by reason of insanity to second-degree murder and to be committed to the custody of the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services so that the Department could examine him and determine the course of his treatment. Those examinations determine to what extent defendants are mentally ill, the likelihood that they will present a risk of harm to themselves or others in the foreseeable future, and whether they require inpatient treatment at a state mental health hospital or if they can be conditionally released for treatment in the community. Judge David W. Lannetti accepted Mr. MacRonald’s plea agreement and found him not guilty by reason of insanity.

After reviewing the Department’s temporary custody evaluation for Mr. MacRonald in a hearing on March 7, Judge Lannetti ordered Mr. MacRonald to be committed to the Department for inpatient hospitalization at a locked state mental health treatment facility until he may qualify for release. Mr. MacRonald will be entitled to an annual review of his commitment. His next hearing is set for March 13, 2026.

“Mr. MacRonald killed his own grandmother not just while mentally ill but while so mentally ill that he did not recognize right from wrong. If he had been in his right mind, he would not have done so. That is why our laws say that Mr. MacRonald was not responsible for what he did and now must receive treatment in a locked facility,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Ms. Howell did not deserve to die a painful death at the hands of her grandson, and her death is yet another example of the failures of the American mental-health system. If we want to avert these tragedies, we must fund our mental-health systems so that treatment is available and affordable for all who need it before tragedy strikes.” 

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney George M. Afentakis and Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Cynthia D. Collard prosecuted Mr. MacRonald’s case, and Norfolk Police Detective Matthew M. Nordan led the investigation.

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Dec. 3, 2024

Man Charged in Grandmother’s Killing in 2023 Found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity

NORFOLK, Va. — A judge on Monday found David Martel MacRonald, 36, not guilty by reason of insanity in the second-degree murder of his grandmother in 2023. Mr. MacRonald, who has been in custody since his arrest, will remain in custody pending an evaluation to determine whether he requires continued commitment to a mental health facility.

Mr. MacRonald, who has a history of mental illness, was accused of beating to death 84-year-old Liu-Chih Howell at some point between the mornings of June 12 and June 13, 2023. Mr. MacRonald was living with Ms. Howell on Dominion Avenue in Norfolk at the time. Ms. Howell’s daughter (Mr. MacRonald’s mother) last saw Ms. Howell alive and uninjured when she visited their residence around 11 a.m. on June 12, 2023. When Ms. Howell’s daughter came back to the residence around the same time the following morning, she found Ms. Howell cold and dead on the couch with significant trauma to her face. Ms. Howell’s subsequent autopsy showed that she had suffered numerous internal injuries as well, including broken ribs.

Mr. MacRonald told police that, before Ms. Howell died, he had heard a thud in their laundry room while he was listening to music in a different room. He claimed that, about an hour after the thud, he went to the laundry room, saw Ms. Howell on the floor bleeding and barely responsive, and picked her up to carry her to the couch. A medical examiner determined that Ms. Howell’s injuries and cause of death were not consistent with a bad fall and ruled her death a homicide.

While Mr. MacRonald’s case was pending trial, his defense counsel requested pursuant to Virginia law that a mental-health doctor evaluate Mr. MacRonald to determine whether he was legally insane at the time he killed his grandmother. The court ordered that evaluation, and the doctor determined that Mr. MacRonald was in fact legally insane at the time of his offense.

In Virginia, a defendant can be considered legally insane if — at time of their crime and because of “mental disease or defect” — they could not understand the nature or consequences of their actions, they were unable to distinguish right from wrong, or they were unable to resist an impulse to commit the actions. Both psychotic disorders and intellectual disabilities qualify as a mental disease or defect.

After receiving notice from the defense of the results of Mr. MacRonald’s first evaluation, the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office requested pursuant to Virginia law that the court appoint a second doctor to perform a new evaluation. That doctor also determined that Mr. MacRonald was legally insane when he killed his grandmother.

Based on both doctors’ reports, Mr. MacRonald entered a plea agreement on Monday requesting to be found not guilty by reason of insanity to his charge of second-degree murder and to be further examined in the custody of the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. That examination is expected to determine to what extent Mr. MacRonald is mentally ill, the likelihood that he will present a risk of harm to himself or others in the foreseeable future, and whether he requires inpatient treatment at a state mental health hospital or if he can be conditionally released. Judge David W. Lannetti accepted Mr. MacRonald’s plea agreement, found him not guilty by reason of insanity, and will continue to review Mr. MacRonald’s progress in future hearings.

“This crime is a triple tragedy, because Ms. Howell is dead, Mr. MacRonald killed her, and their family has lost them both,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “For two doctors to determine that someone is legally insane, that person has to be more than just mentally ill. They have to be so unwell that they do not understand right from wrong, negating the intent necessary to find them legally guilty of a crime. This is a hard standard to meet – many mentally ill people are found guilty every day across America of crimes and are sent to jail or prison, itself a failure of our system to address mental illness – but in Mr. MacRonald’s case, it was clearly the correct conclusion. The law punishes people’s intent, and it cannot punish people who do not understand right from wrong.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney George M. Afentakis and Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Cynthia D. Collard are prosecuting Mr. MacRonald’s case, and Norfolk Police Detective Matthew M. Nordan led the investigation.

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