A mental hospital patient who strangled an elderly woman 22 years ago and slit her throat is still on the loose after escaping from a hospital outing to the Spokane County fair, The Spokesman Review reports.

The paper says 57-year-old Phillip Arnold Paul walked away from a group of 31 Eastern State Hospital patients on a trip to the fair along with 11 hospital employees. Authorities were not notified for two hours that he had gone missing…

Paul, who is 5-foot-8 and weighs 207 pounds, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and hospitalized in 1987, after being found innocent by reason of insanity of killing a 78-year-old woman in Sunnyside. According to previous reports, the paper says, Paul said voices in his head said the woman was a witch…

State officials have temporarily halted all outings for state patients with criminal histories while they conduct a review.

Isn’t there something about dumb and dumber being illustrated here?




  1. Aaron says:

    Just great… this is in my home town. He looks like a child molester.

  2. bobbo, liberal, conservative and pragmatic says:

    Ha, ha. I love bureaucracies. Hopefully he is behind the big tent arguing with the squirrels.

  3. Benjamin says:

    #1 He killed an old person and he is violent. It didn’t say anything about him molesting children.

    Still, do the people that run hospitals for the criminally insane have heads made of silly putty? I mean who lets psycho killers out for field trips? He killed an old person because he thought she was a witch and they don’t lock him up? No field trips for insane killers.

  4. Todd Peterson says:

    In Norway a murderer who was in prison, fled the country – DURING HIS VACATION – because he thought it was too tough conditions in prison.

  5. Uncle Patso says:

    I guess after 22 years, things can get a little lax. I wonder — is that picture recent or from 22 years ago? I just hope they find this guy before his meds wear off.

  6. Awake says:

    Three free meals a day, free medical care, a place to sleep, free tickets to the county fair, plenty of free time to read and lounge around, don’t need to go to work, no wife nagging me all the time… sounds like a pretty sweet deal… how do I join that club?

    Well, there are a couple of people that post comments on this blog that make me rather insane… hmmm…

  7. Alfred's Mom says:

    Uh oh, it looks like sonny boy got loose.

  8. Alfred's Unintentional Father says:

    #7 Unfit Mom – Bitch! I told you not to allow that boy to go along on that field trip. You know he gets riled up when he visits with his carny kin folk. The bearded lady just gets him all confused and excited.

    Why can’t the voices in his head tell him to give me a million dollars instead of doing the Repub’s job of killing little old ladies?

    Now go get me a cotton candy and some deep-fried butter. Don’t forget the butter dipping sauce!

  9. jobs says:

    Sounds like either #7 or #8 could be this psycho. Then again #7 and #8 may be the same person…..

  10. mentalwealth says:

    Read the last paragraph of the original
    article.

    “Paul also escaped during a day trip in 1990.”

  11. Faxon says:

    I love the “temporarily” part. Wouldn’t want to upset the insane murderers, now, would we?

  12. Greensaab says:

    This is in the city I live. They too the pedophiles and murderers to the fair for therapy is what DSHS is saying. They have announced that he is not the only one that escaped.

  13. Alfred's Mom says:

    #9 – No, I’m the mom and he’s the dad. I don’t think some people suffer from mental illness, I think they enjoy it.

  14. jpfitz says:

    @ #13

    “I don’t think some people suffer from mental illness, I think they enjoy it.”

    I know from experience you are dead wrong. And you come across as a dick.

    If I was incarcerated I would escape if possible.
    So would most coherent people sane or not.

  15. Alfred's Mom says:

    14 – Seriously jp, you sound like you could use a check-up from the neck up.

  16. jpfitz says:

    @ Alfred’s Mom

    Touché. Haven’t heard that one in a long time. Got a good laugh.


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