<H1 class=red>Jury to deliberate wife's sanity 
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Friday, June 16, 2006 By MARLA A. GOLDBERG
mgoldberg@repub.com
SPRINGFIELD - A jury will return to court this morning to deliberate on whether Starleen A. Rutkowski, 47, was insane when she ran over her husband with a minivan on Aug. 17, 2004, in Palmer, a few hours after the couple argued during a fishing trip.
Rutkowsi has pleaded innocent in Hampden Superior Court to the murder of Richard J. Rutkowski, 50, and to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. The trial began on June 8, and jury deliberations started yesterday afternoon.
Police have said that Rutkowski was run over repeatedly with a white 1999 Dodge Caravan, at the Country Manor Apartments in Palmer's Three Rivers section.
In closing arguments yesterday, Rutkowski's lawyer, Terry S. Nagel, said her client has "mental disease" including bipolar disorder, mania and depression, and "mental defect" stemming from head injuries, including a concussion in 1976. As a result, Rutkowski can't appreciate the wrongfulness of her acts or conform her conduct to the law, Nagel said. "I'm confident you will do the right thing and find her not guilty by reason of insanity," he said.
Assistant District Attorney Timothy S. Rogers did not specifically counter Nagel's claim that Rutkowski is mentally ill, although he told the jury there is little evidence of the head injuries cited. "We heard about a bump on the head in 1976," he said.
Rogers said Richard Rutkowski's killing was premeditated, and committed with extreme atrocity and cruelty, the elements of first-degree murder. Before Rutkowski hit her husband with the minivan, witnesses saw her throwing objects into a Dumpster, and heard her say, "You won't need these things when you're dead," Rogers said.
Police were called by neighbors at about 8 p.m., but by 8:18 p.m., Rutkowski was dead, Rogers said, adding he suffered "crushing" injuries. Rogers cited a medical examiner's testimony about numerous fractures across Rutkowski's body.
Nagel said Starleen Rutkowski has five documented suicide attempts, has threatened homicide, been civilly committed, and once attacked a doctor. Her "psychotic behavior," Nagel said, also included pulling a knife on her second husband, to whom she was married before Rutkowski.
Wifes uses Dodge Caravan to Kill Husband...
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