commentary by Patrick H. Moore
The curious case of Pazuzu Illah Algarad had drawn considerable attention from crime fans and during the course of the week, numerous media sources have provided new information concerning Pazuzu’s mental state, which according to some commenters, suggests that his strange persona may not simply be him posturing for attention.
I was gently taken to task by a commenter on All Things Crime Blog who wrote the following:
It is probably best to hold off on making any sort of social conjecture about this guy’s personality type until more information is forthcoming. It has already been determined that he is a heavily medicated schizophrenic with agoraphobia who self-medicates with alcohol. This would seem to indicate that his situation is slightly different from mere posturing for attention.
Before passing judgment on whether I was unfair in my appraisal of Pazuzu (I was certainly cavalier and probably having a little too much fun), let’s review what the new reports disclose:
First of all, Pazazu (whose real name is John Alexander Lawson) was born in San Francisco (my old stomping ground) and lived for an undetermined period of time in Northern California. He is reported to have changed his name to Pazuzu in 2002, well before the current allegations. Pazuzu is apparently a name that refers to a demon lord who figures prominently in The Exorcist.
With respect to Pazuzu’s mental state, Vivian Ho writes for SFGate:
According to the Winston-Salem Journal, psychiatrists who evaluated Algarad in 2010 (at the time of his earlier charge of being an accessory to manslaughter in the death of a man) believed he was schizophrenic and agoraphobic, as well as an alcoholic. Here’s an excerpt from the newspaper report:
During the interview with the psychiatrists, Algarad shook uncontrollably and admitted to drinking up to 18 beers a day, according to the doctors’ report. The doctors also noticed that Algarad had intentionally filed down his teeth, had poor hygiene and body odor, the report said. “And he admitted that he bathed no more than once a year, and had not brushed his teeth in years,” the report said. “He felt such actions stripped … the body of its defenses in warding off infection and illness.”
Despite his diagnosis, Pazuzu’s psychiatrists ultimately determined he was competent to stand trial. He pleaded guilty in 2012 and was sentenced to 10 to 12 months in prison and was on probation when the bodies were discovered in his yard.
Further information on Pazuzu stemming from laymen (non-professionals) includes the following:
WGHP, a local Fox affiliate, quoted a person who knew Algarad and had visited his home as saying he had a split tongue and sharpened teeth — and sacrificed rabbits, typically on a full moon.
“When you walked in the first room, it was kind of blacked out and the wallpaper had been peeled off,” the man said. “There was like scribbles, and scratches, and graffiti, and Arabic and Satan and swastikas. … You could tell when his demons needed something from him, because they took over.”
So what does this tell us? Does his mean that due to his mental illness, Pazuzu could not help his weird behavior and that it was not mere “posturing for attention”.
Possibly. To some degree, I’ll buy that. But on the other hand, what about the fact that he bragged about killing, eating and burying prostitutes? Would he brag about these “exploits” because he was proud of them, or possibly because he could not help himself and felt he had to confess?
And furthermore, being generally off-kilter, even certifiably insane, and sharpening one’s teeth and refusing to bathe, would not seem to predispose an individual to murder and cannibalism. I don’t believe that the medical profession has successfully explained why a small percentage of schizophrenics resort to violent crime, while most do not.
But if Pazuzu is controlled by his demons and if his demons tell him to kill, what choice does he have other than to do their bidding? But then why would he joke and laugh about it? And if he is that crazy, why would he maintain a weird Facebook site resplendent with demons and their familiars, which in some ways is reminiscent of many other weird Facebook sites.
In attempting to make sense of this, I am frankly stumped. Posturing notwithstanding, what is the relationship between serious mental illness and violent crime culminating in murder and the desecration of dead bodies? And if Pazuzu is certifiably schizophrenic and the evidence suggests he is, despite whatever ability he had to function in society (which includes maintaining a social media presence), to what degree – if at all –does this constitute a defense in his current case?
These are the type of questions that our justice system has never managed to deal with satisfactorily. And as Lise LaSalle suggested regarding Luka Magnotta, who was also diagnosed as schizophrenic and like Pazuzu, maintained an active social media presence, it really makes no sense for lost souls of this ilk to go to trial before a jury of their peers. Rather, society probably needs to devise a new and more effective way of judging them fairly, which is clearly no easy task.
Meanwhile, let me tentatively suggest that cases such as these the “Look at Me” obsession may be accompanied by serious mental illness which, in rare instances, results in horrific violent crimes. Fortunately, in most of us, the egotistical need for attention is not accompanied by severe mental illness or a penchant for murder and mayhem.
Click here to read out earlier Pazuzu Illah Algarad post:
Loudmouth “Evil Gods” Worshipper, Pazuzu Illah Algarad, Caught with Skeletons in His Backyard