Stephen H. Kessler

Stephen H. Kessler
Born	Stephen H. Kessler 1935 (age 89–90)
Motive	Insanity
Conviction	Not guilty by reason of insanity
Criminal charge	Murder
Penalty	Committed

Stephen H. Kessler (born 1935) is a person who was known as the "LSD Killer".

Education

He attended Harvard College and graduated class of '57, ^[1] and was enrolled in Downstate Medical School in 1964, but was asked to leave because of his unstable behaviour. ^[2]

Trial

He was arrested in April 1966 ^[3] and tried for murder in October, having apparently stabbed his mother-in-law 105 times. Headlines trumpeted him as a "Mad LSD Slayer" and "LSD Killer", based on a statement made during his arrest that he had been "flying for three days on LSD". ^[4] Kessler testified at trial that he had taken LSD a month prior to the murder, but a psychiatrist later testified that Kessler told him he took LSD on the day of the murder. ^[5] His drug use was revealed as having been "one-and-a-half grains of phenobarbital" and "three quarts of lab alcohol". ^{[6] [7]}

Psychiatrists testified that he had paranoid schizophrenia and he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. ^[8]

See also

• Maurice Edelbaum, one of Kessler's lawyers

References

1. Stevens, Jay (1988). Storming heaven : LSD and the American dream (1st Perennial Library ed.). New York: Perennial Library. ISBN   0-06-097172-X.
2. "Trials: Two States of Mind". Time Magazine. November 3, 1967. Archived from the original on December 15, 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
3. "NY Man 'Flying On LSD' Kills Mother-in-Law". The Daily Republic. Mitchell, South Dakota. 12 Apr 1966. p. 2. Retrieved 12 September 2016– via Newspapers.com.
4. "A Slaying Suspect Tells of LSD Spree: Medical Student Charged in Mother-in-Law's Death". New York Times. 12 April 1966. p. 1.(subscription required)
5. "Jury Told Kessler Took an LSD Cube Before the Slaying". New York Times. October 12, 1967. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
6. Grinspoon, Lester; Bakalar, James B. (1998). Psychedelic drugs reconsidered (2nd print ed.). New York: Lindesmith Center. p.  173. ISBN   0964156857.
7. Stafford, Peter; technical editor: Jeremy Bigwood; foreword by Andrew Weil; introduction by Dan Joy (1992). "The LSD Family". Psychedelics encyclopedia (3rd expanded ed.). Berkeley, CA: Ronin Pub. p. 62. ISBN   0914171518.{{cite book}}: |author2= has generic name (help)
8. ANDERSON, F. DAVID (October 26, 1967). "Jury Acquits Kessler in LSD Murder". New York Times. p. 57. Retrieved 17 December 2012.(subscription required)

External links

• ANDERSON, F. DAVID (October 10, 1967). "MURDER SUSPECT TELLS OF LSD USE; He Says He Can't Recall if He Killed Mother-in-Law" . New York Times. p. 37. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
• "Jury Told Kessler Took an LSD Cube Before the Slaying" . New York Times. October 12, 1967. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
• "1967 Press Photo Stephen H. Kessler found not guilty by reason of insanity". Historic Images. Retrieved 12 September 2016.