Thompson not guilty of homicide by reason of insanity

Rather than being convicted of homicide, DuPage County Judge Peter Dockery ruled Hubert Thompson, formerly known as "Boo Boo", was legally insane (paranoid) when he killed James Malone. See Sun-Times (Dan Rozek).

Thompson was a star athlete at Proviso West. He played football at Michigan State University.

Personal accounts described him as being a particularly nice guy in high school. Looking back there were probably signs of his mental deterioration at MSU. In his brief time with the New Orleans Saints he got into a fight with another player over an exercise bicycle.

It would have been better for Thompson and Malone if Thompson got either effective mental health treatment or was placed in a supervised setting before he became so imbalanced that throwing his friend and neighbor off the balcony made sense to him.

CRIME, Hubert "Boo Boo" Thompson charged with murder [D209]

I saw Hubert Thompson wrestle in high school. He was one of the most dominant high school wrestlers I'd ever seen. He was so strong he could pick-up the other heavyweights like they were little kids.

Chicago Tribune (Matthew Walberg):

For reasons that remained unclear Saturday, Thompson hurled [James] Malone [66 year old, a neighbor] over a balcony Friday afternoon, killing him, police said. Thompson was charged with first-degree murder and was being held in lieu of $3 million bail.

After attending Proviso West Thompson played football at Michigan State University. The article says Thompson was cut by the New Orleans Saints after two days for fighting with another player.

If I recall correctly (IIRC) Thompson had trouble scoring high enough on his college entrance exams to be admitted to a Division I school. There was talk of him being drafted directly to the NFL. He was that developed and talented.

I didn't interact with Thompson, but from what I heard through wrestlers he was a nice guy if a completely intimidating opponent.

[UPDATE: Sun-Times (Ben Goldberger and Dave Newbart) has the story on the front page of the Sunday paper.

[A couple things got my attention.

Authorities said Thompson allegedly made incriminating statements in an interview. He also allegedly told authorities that he believed Malone had tried to poison him.

DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett said Saturday that officials are awaiting the results of mental evaluations, expected this week. "There's some substantial psychological issues that have to be addressed," he said.

[Apparently Thompson and the victim were friendly. Thompson has a history of mental health issues.]