Happy Birthday, Boy

From the Miami Herald :

Swordsman can plead insanity in killings

SANFORD - (AP) -- A judge ruled Monday that a Lake Mary man may plead insanity for fatally stabbing his wife and son on the boy's 11th birthday.

Franklyn Duzant, 41, decapitated his wife, Evangeline, 52, and nearly decapitated his son, Nico, with a 36-inch samurai sword, in front of neighbors in June, authorities reported.

Duzant faces two counts of first-degree murder. He did not speak at Monday's hearing.

Assistant State Attorney Donna Goerner told Circuit Judge Donna McIntosh that the state would not oppose the insanity plea but does want state experts to conduct a mental evaluation of Duzant. The judge agreed.

Two mental health experts for the defense will testify that Duzant was insane on the day that he killed his wife and son, according to court documents. Defense attorney Diana Tennis has said Duzant appears to suffer from paranoid schizophrenia.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.