Man who beheaded son ruled insane

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., May 21 (UPI) -- A Virginia judge has ruled that a man who said he beheaded his 5-year-old son to save the boy's soul is not guilty by reason of insanity.

Joseph Hagerman, 34, is currently a patient at the Central State Hospital in Petersburg, The Virginian-Pilot reported Thursday. Circuit Court Judge Patricia West scheduled a hearing for July to determine whether he will remain hospitalized.

Hagerman was arrested in February near his home in Virginia Beach after he used a kitchen knife to decapitate his son, Joshua. He was also charged with assaulting his wife, Shirley, who was slashed when she tried to grab the boy.

At Wednesday's hearing, Hagerman waived a grand jury hearing and a jury trial.

A psychiatrist found that Hagerman, who had been diagnosed as a schizophrenic, "believed that what he was doing was the absolute right thing to do and that he performed this act out of love." He apparently believed that his wife was the Anti-Christ and that she planned to torture Joshua until he denied Christ and then kill him.

Both defense and prosecution said they accepted the findings. Harvey Bryant, the prosecutor, predicted Hagerman will be in custody "for a long, long, long time."