CRIME, Steven Tomporowski denied new trial [W]

Steven Tomporowski, 21, of Westchester was denied a new trial for the murder of his parents and uncle. See WISC-TV (AP).

Steven Tomporowski, 21, argued in his appeal that it was his mental illness, not his use of the drug LSD that caused him to kill his father, Stephen; mother, Deborah, and uncle Roger at a vacation house near Richland Center in February 2004.

Tomporowski pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease, claiming that he suffered from schizophrenia. A judge found that although the defendant might have suffered from a mental illness or personality disorder, his behavior was "complicated" by his heavy use of LSD.

This short description omits the bizarreness of the crime. However, the act of luring his mother to the house to kill her after he'd already killed his father and uncle demonstrates that he did understand cause and effect.