Insanity plea accepted in Sandusky Co. murder case

FREMONT — The man who violently stabbed two people — killing one — at a Vickery service plaza was found not guilty by reason of insanity by a judge last week. Wisconsin man Thomas C. Connor, 51, had his insanity plea granted when he went before a judge on Wednesday in Sandusky County Court of Common Pleas. Connor, originally indicted with aggravated murder, murder attempted murder and two counts of felonious assault was deemed "to not know or understand the wrongfulness of his actions due to a severe mental disease or defect," according to the judgment entry submitted by Judge Jon Ickes. Connor was accused of murdering a man and injuring another in the Erie Islands Service Plaza parking lot last October. David Diedrich, 66, of La Porte, Indiana, was fatally stabbed in the abdomen and Alan L. Austin, 53, of Delavan, Wisconsin was stabbed in the chest through his van window. Sandusky County sheriff's deputies arrived on the scene shortly after. Video of the incident showed Connor approaching a Sandusky County sheriff's deputy with the knife in his hand. Connor is commanded to drop the knife several times as he keeps moving toward the deputy. The deputy then shoots Connor with rounds of rubber bullets in the hip and waist and detains him. Connor had previously waived a jury trial. He underwent two separate competency evaluations. According to the closing arguments filed by Sandusky County prosecutors, Connor was acting under the instruction of voices in his head. Ultimately, Judge Ickes found Connor to be a "mentally ill person subject to a court order," the judgment entry states. A dispositional hearing is set for June 27 to determine the next steps for Connor and his placement.