Man accused of fatally stabbing Yuryk husband pleads not guilty by reason of insanity

An Ohio man charged with first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of a man at a rest stop on Interstate 80 in Nebraska has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

James Thompson Jr., The 22-year-old Elyria, Ohio man pleaded guilty Tuesday, the Lincoln Journal Star reported. Thompson is also charged with attempted murder, attempted robbery, evading arrest and a weapons count. On June 19, stab wounds of Gary Weaver, 72, and his wife, Mary Weaver, 71, both of Eureka, Missouri.

Investigators said witnesses reported hearing Thompson demand the keys to a Jeep that was being towed behind the Weavers’ van before he injured them both at a rest area near Grand Island.

Both were seriously injured and Gary Weaver later died of his injuries in hospital.

According to the investigators, part of the attack was recorded on the video recorder of the truck driver. Police said Thompson fled the rest area in a car, and a Nebraska State Trooper later spotted him on the I-80 exit at nearby Wood River. A chase ensued, and investigators say Thompson was speeding 120 mph (193 km/h) before crashing into the Platte River. He was arrested nearby with a bloody shirt and several cuts on his hand, police said.

Thompson’s public defender previously raised questions about his client’s mental health, but Thompson was found competent to stand trial on October 1.