Mom killer was insane, judge rules

SOUTH COUNTY COURTS – A Chula Vista man with a history of mental illness was insane when he stabbed his mother to death in January 2007 in their home, a judge ruled yesterday. Kaijamar “Kai” Dion Carpenter will likely spend the rest of his life in a state mental hospital, his lawyer said outside Chula Vista Superior Court. “That's pretty much where he belongs,” said Deputy Public Defender Michael J. Popkins. “His mother, God bless her heart, did everything she could to get him help. Unfortunately, it took her untimely death to get him help.” Carpenter, 29, had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for killing Diane Carpenter, 54, an assistant principal at Eastlake High School. Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Raymond Edwards Jr. ruled yesterday that Carpenter shouldn't go to prison for the slaying because he couldn't tell... [read full story]