The wife of a deceased Somerset attorney is suing several psychiatrists and Eastern State Hospital.
Beth Stanziano claims they were negligent in their handling of a mentally ill man who murdered her husband, according to a report in the Lexington Herald-Leader.
The complaint says 41-year-old Clinton Inabnit had been treated at Eastern State for several days in May 2014. The following month, he shot and killed Somerset attorney Mark Staniziano.
The lawsuit claims Inabnit was released from the mental hospital while still delusional. He suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and had a criminal record.
The lawsuit filed by Stanziano’s widow claims Inabnit had made prior threats to harm the prominent attorney and that doctors failed in their responsibility to warn Stanziano or notify police.
Inabnit was scheduled to go on trial this month. Instead, he pleaded guilty but mentall ill on charges of murder and wanton endangerment. The plea agreement calls for a 20-year sentence.
