Apr. 16, 2012
COVINGTON — Leslie Haun told a state psychiatrist that he isn’t convinced the man he is accused of beating to death with an aluminum bat and table leg is actually dead.
Why the doubt? Haun thinks the dead man has since visited him in jail.
That was Dr. Timothy Allen’s testimony during Haun’s competency hearing Monday in Kenton Circuit Court. Judge Patricia Summe did not immediately rule on whether Haun is competent to stand trial.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Redwine urged the judge to find the 48-year-old Haun competent.
“Perhaps in the course of a trial we will prove beyond a reasonable doubt – not only to a jury but to him as well – that he did in fact kill somebody,” Redwine said.
Public defender Eva Hager argued that a defendant who thinks the person they charged with killing visited them in jail can’t possibly participate in their own defense.
Allen said Haun can function in society when he is on medication. Haun has an IQ of 111; the average range is 85 to 115.
“He is a bright individual,” Allen said. “No concern about his cognitive function related to the court process.”
It is when Haun is off his medication when he hears voices, Allen said. There have been times Haun has delusions of various entities, often of the demonic type, chasing after him. Haun once told a judge he led police on a 50-mile chase in a stolen car because “Jesus provided the car for him to escape the demons that were chasing him.”
Another time Haun told authorities his name was “Sabo.” When a judge questioned the name, Haun told him, “That’s what they call me in the third dimension.”
Allen said the staff at the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center in La Grange had worked with Haun over the years. A state mental evaluation in October diagnosed Haun with schizoaffective disorder, a condition that caused symptoms of schizophrenia such as hallucinations or delusions and symptoms of mood disorders, such as mania or depression, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Haun is charged with murder for the killing of 54-year-old Shain Pierce last September in Covington. Pierce let Haun stay at his apartment after he was kicked out of a drug and alcohol treatment facility. The two men had met at Alcoholics Anonymous.
Investigators say Pierce returned to his apartment after having a toe amputated to Haun drinking alcohol. When Pierce ordered Haun to leave, there was a struggle.
The trial in the killing of Pierce was set for June 5, but that date is in jeopardy because the state crime lab hasn’t completed DNA testing on the murder weapon. Haun’s son, 22-year-old Robert Haun, is accused of trying to throw the bat and table leg used in the beating down a sewer. Investigators were able to find the bat but could not find the table leg, according to court records.
The son is charged with tampering with physical evidence and is set to be tried with his father.
He and a girl i think her name was Andrea lived with my family for a while,,I had a boy that was 4,,I knew he was trouble,, we were out in the country my husband Les and the girl,,Les told us he needed to go there to get money and would we take them,,we did,,when we got out there he pulled a gun,,wanted to shoot my husband,,i for the life of me can’t remember why,,i got by my husband and we both waited till the girl hollered for him,,and we split,,flat out took off,,leaving them in the middle of nowhere,,when they came back they found all their stuff on the steps,,and no one answering the door,they left,,we never saw them again..they had a little baby,,he was so cute,,Les had that baby on a schedule,,strict,,so much that the baby would scream for its bottle,,and he refused to let the baby eat until it was time,, refused to stay home alone when he was there,,glad he got away from us before he started doing crazy stuff,,I got the sense the girl wanted to get away too but was scared,,sorry to see he ended up where he is,,
I’m so glad that you all didn’t get to see the brunt of what that man was and is capable of……my condolences to the family of shain Pierce…..he is a narcissistic sociopath who is devoid of feeling anything for anybody……
And by the way Sabo is his original birth name…..he was adopted by a his step dad given Haun
Interesting! Thanks for the info. He was a horrible person.
WOW this is a crazy story. This needs to stop.
No more sentencing these people to AA/NA period.
THanks for this great website .
just irks me to no end, with his given past that he was released back into society……and unfortunately someone was brutally killed, what a crock KY…..I blame you for this! This monster had no flipping business back on the streets whatsoever! anyone wanting to email me I’m at sereneandsober@yahoo.com…..
It is so tragic that he was released into society. What do think about him being sent to Alcoholics Anonymous where Shain Pierce met him, and I believe became his sponsor?
The courts are sending people like Leslie Haun in droves to AA and NA meetings, and many unsuspecting 12 step members are paying the price.
This is my brother Shain that got killed by this leslie haun. This pycho should get the death penalty! My brother took him and his son in. Trying to help someone, There really isn’t any words to say that really says how Shain’s family feels.
Cynthia, I am so sorry for the loss of your brother. He sounds like he was kind and generous. He tried to help Leslie Haun and his son. He paid the price.
It is stories like this that make so many of us concerned about who they are court mandating to these meetings. I do not know if your brother knew how mentally ill Leslie Haun was.
I hope justice is served.
This is my father you are talking about
Candice, I am sure you are going through hell over this tragedy, as I believe your brother was involved as well.
We are trying to point out on this website, that people like your father that has a serious mental illness should not be mandated to AA or NA meetings. 12 steppers have no experience in dealing with people who have a mental illness. It also poses a danger to other that are attending, like the man your father has been charged with killing.
I believe Shain Pierce was his sponsor in AA, and had befriended your Father. Sponsors or other members just are not equipped to handle members with schizoaffective disorder . It looked like it cost Shain Pierce his life.
Certainly teens and children should not be going to AA and NA meetings!
I agree that people with mental illness should not be court ordered to AA or NA mtgs as for lack of support people can provide in this program……I myself have also come across child molesters in this program, and DO NOT agree with the courts saying that they have to attend this mtgs…..I am all for people getting the help they need, however the courts have basically washed their hands of the responsibility and want to throw it on someone else….and regarding to Leslie J Haun, I blame the Commonwealth Of Kentucky for this one, looking at his past, them knowing this, they allow him to be back in society where as he should have been locked up, and my condolescences to the family of Shain Pierce……
Well, i feel bad for you, BUT, THAT WAS MY BROTHER HE KILLED!!
It is sad that people with such serious psychological disorders would be court mandated to unsupervised anonymous gatherings with no professional counselors on hand. Other participants at these meetings, whether court mandated or attending voluntarily, are not informed about things like what the person sitting next to them had been arrested for and how many times this individual has been, unsuccessfully put through this system. They are not told anything about the fact that the person next to them has a serious psychological disorder and is prone to delusions and possibly deadly violence!
Then you have an unprofessional, anonymous sponsor who out of the goodness of his heart tries to help this anonymous individual. Unfortunately because of all this anonymity, the member who tried to be a kind of unqualified counselor to his killer was clueless that he was in way over his head.
In truth their is an alarming percentage of court mandated, violent offenders at these unprofessional, anonymous meetings, many with complex coexisting psychological disorders! What about concern for public safety and an authentic concern for true rehabilitation on the part of the courts that send the violent psychologically unstable to sit, unsupervised, anonymously side-by-side with the vulnerable, transitional participants who are all there to be counseled by the unqualified?
Throwing all these people straight from jail into these anonymous, unsupervised, unprofessional meetings run by unqualified personnel is a negligent recipe for disaster similar to sending clueless, children out to play, some with gasoline and others with matches. Just as long as they get out of the house, who cares?
Great analogy Moreoptions about sending kids out to play. It seems like both AA and NA are starting to see more of a decline of regulars going to meetings, as many feel unsafe with all of the court mandated people in the rooms, and sometimes our parks. It has become just an extension of the judicial system. Many times members do not realize who they are sitting next to.