EVERETT — There was no argument that Bjorn Anderson attacked his grandma with a kitchen knife last year, stabbing the woman eight times before running from her Bothell-area home.
Why he committed the assault came under scrutiny Wednesday before Anderson was sentenced to 15 years in prison for attempted second-degree murder.
His client is a young man, whose serious mental health conditions were made worse because he abused cough medicine, public defender Neal Friedman explained Wednesday.
“He was self-medicating with Robitussin to control the voices in his head,” he said. “It was the horrible side effects of this over-the-counter, legal cough medicine that led to this horrible event.”
Friedman provided Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Janice Ellis copies of case studies focused on the abuse of dextromethorphan, the active ingredient in Robitussin cough medicine. The study, published in 2012 in the Journal of Forensic Sciences, concluded that recreational use of high doses of dextromethorphan, also known as “dexing” or “robotripping,” has been found to cause mania and hallucinations. The study detailed incidents of people attacking others as well as committing suicide while under the influence of the cough syrup.
In the past decade, abuse has increased among young people, likely because the medication is easy to access, according to another report.
Anderson had consumed up to four bottles of Robitussin the day before he attacked his grandmother, according to court papers.
There’s no other way to explain why Anderson, who’s never been in trouble with the law, would lash out at the one person who took him in when his mother abandoned him, Friedman said.
“Poor Bjorn was just a mess,” the public defender said.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Paul Stern seemingly dismissed the cough syrup defense.
Anderson, 20, might have been self-medicating and might suffer from a mental health condition, but his actions were violent and vicious and motivated by rage, Stern said.
Tension between Anderson and his grandmother increased as she repeatedly asked him to leave. Her lease wouldn’t permit him to stay long term, and several days before the attack, her landlord told Anderson he needed to move out.
“I was trying to kill her and I was thinking about it day after day,” Stern quoted from the interview Anderson provided to detectives hours after the assault.
It’s clear that Anderson intended to kill the woman, Stern added.
Anderson pleaded guilty earlier this month to attempted second-degree murder. He had been charged with attempted first-degree murder. The charge was reduced in part because of the defendant’s psychological history. Stern recommended the 15-year sentence, saying that Anderson’s grandmother wanted the maximum punishment.
“That’s not to say that I’m not sympathetic to Mr. Anderson and his need for treatment,” Stern said. “It’s up to (him) to get the help he needs.”
Anderson was admitted to a psychiatric hospital at the age of 12. His mother reported that he showed symptoms that suggested schizophrenia by the age of 13. He was placed on major anti-psychotic medications around the same time. He didn’t consistently receive medication, however, Friedman wrote. In his late teens, Anderson began to suffer from auditory hallucinations.
“At some point he realized he could control the voices by ingesting large amounts of Robitussin,” Friedman wrote. “Unfortunately, he had no idea about the corrosive side effects of this medication.”
The longtime public defender said his client’s abuse of cough medicine was a factor in the case, but fell short of providing a legal defense based on insanity.
Anderson went to live with his grandmother in September 2014. She reported that she awoke June 8, 2015, to Anderson standing at the foot of her bed. He didn’t say anything but pounced on her and repeatedly stabbed her.
The woman, 58, fought back and screamed for help. Anderson ran off but was captured a short distance away. Anderson told detectives he needed to see blood.
Anderson kept his eyes closed through parts of Wednesday’s hearing. Ellis was told that he’s responded well to the medication he’s received at the jail during the past year.
Anderson confirmed that he’s receiving the right medication now.
“I’m severely sorry,” he said.
He should have stopped abusing Robitussin, he said. He later told the judge that he drank the cough medicine to deal with his problems.
“I just kinda fell off the edge,” he said.
Ellis didn’t directly address Friedman’s theory about the cough medicine. She told Anderson that he’s ultimately responsible for his own actions.
“Those actions reflect an inability to manage or control yourself,” she said.
The case spotlights the ongoing public debate about how to properly address those living with mental health issues, the judge said. Under the circumstances in this case, the only way society can assure that a person maintains his sobriety and complies with mental health treatment is prison, Ellis said.
To keep the public safe and to hold the defendant accountable, a maximum prison sentence is appropriate, she added.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley.
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