Wisconsin man stabs wife, sister and dog to 'save them from COVID-19'

A Wisconsin man will spend his life in a mental hospital after he stabbed two family members and a dog to death — and seriously injured two others — during an outburst related to his obsessive fears about COVID-19. New York Post.

Photo: Shutterstock

On March 10, 36-year-old Adam Roth ate in the kitchen with his wife, Dominique. Suddenly the man jumped up and started stabbing her. Sisters Dominique, Desiree and Deirdre, as well as her mother Gilan Popanda, began to shout at Roth to stop, but he attacked them all with a knife.

Dominique, 34, Deirdre, 26, and their dog died from their injuries, Desiree, 36, and Popanda, 62, were seriously injured in the attack.

According to the complaint, Roth had been "obsessed" with the coronavirus for several weeks prior to the incident.

During interrogation, he told the detective that "the coronavirus was approaching and they had to be saved."

Roth confessed to two counts of premeditated murder and two counts of attempted murder, but pleaded not guilty due to mental illness.

He was also charged with reckless endangerment and first-degree animal cruelty/causing death with a dangerous weapon — but those charges were dismissed as part of his guilty plea.

The verdict was announced on Monday, December 14. Judge Laura Lau ruled he must be committed to a mental hospital for life on counts one and two, and ordered 60-year commitments on the other counts, all to run concurrently.

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Deputy District Attorney Ted Schupakevich, who was seeking a life sentence, said he had not seen a more "gruesome" crime in his 28 years at the district attorney's office.

Roth's lawyer Cameron Weizner did not object to life imprisonment.

"This case involves a man who suffers from mental illness and suffers in ways that I doubt any of us can understand," Weitzner said.

Roth's father encouraged compassion in sentencing.

“I wish all people could know, realize and understand that mental illness is real and not an excuse or a made-up story,” Ron Roth said. “It’s as real as cancer or heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, high blood pressure or a fracture.”

Roth's aunt and godmother, Christie Fischer, also noted that the killer "deeply empathizes with people" and supported her husband when he was suffering from prostate cancer.

“I hope the sentence given to Adam strikes a balance between justice for this tragic event and compassion for someone with mental illness,” she said.

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Popanda stated during a video call that she does not know Roth as he was during the brutal attack.

“But I know he killed two of the most wonderful people in the world, my daughters were wonderful,” she said. “At the same time, I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to Adam.” He looks like my son. What I saw that night was not the Adam I knew. The one I saw was a monster."

Two doctors assessing Roth's mental health indicated that he experienced "... a dramatic decline in mental stability" in the months before the attack.

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