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What Ever Happened to…the Susan Trott Murder Case?

November 1, 2023 | 9:15 AM
in CRIME, NEWS
10
Susan Trott in 2017. Photo courtesy of Eric Boscia.

By Joy Bergmann

Five years have passed since a Manhattan grand jury indicted Anya Johnston, now 29, for the stabbing murder of advertising copywriter Susan Trott, 70, Johnston’s downstairs neighbor at 710 West End Avenue. 

Johnston’s trial, set to begin in mid-October, was delayed after her defense attorney Jeremy Scheider filed some additional evidence: written notes from an Upper West Side neuropsychologist, according to court documents and a recent hearing. Those notes must be reviewed by prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, and a new trial date is expected to be set at a hearing November 9th. 

The delay appears to be tied to Schneider’s pursuit of a “psychiatric defense” for Johnston. In conversations with WSR, attorney Schneider has described Johnston as having an “extensive mental health history, going back probably 20 years.”

But legal experts say it’s difficult for defendants to win a “not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect” verdict – New York’s version of not guilty by reason of insanity. And even when they do, they can end up spending more time in post-trial confinement than a defendant receiving a regular guilty verdict. As a report to the New York State Bar Association put it: ‘You Have to Be Crazy to Plead Insanity.’ 

Revisiting the crime 

Prosecutors say Susan Trott suffered stab wounds and died in her 14th floor apartment sometime between 5:40 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. on October 17, 2018. 

After discovering Trott’s body three-and-a-half days later, police followed a trail of bloody footprints to Anya Johnston’s 15th floor home where detectives confiscated some pants, a jacket and a pair of Converse All-Stars. A report by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner says blood samples taken from Johnston’s garments matched Trott’s DNA profile.

Johnston pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder charges and has remained in custody on Rikers Island awaiting trial. 

[For more on Johnston’s background and details on what prosecutors say happened on the day of the murder, please read this WSR story from 2019.] 

How does the insanity defense work? 

Generally speaking, under New York law, a jury must first agree that the prosecution has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant intended to and did kill their victim. If that burden is met, the jury then considers psychiatric evidence from both sides. 

For an insanity defense to prevail, that evidence must show the defendant lacked substantial capacity to know or appreciate the nature and consequences of their actions – or to understand that such conduct was wrong legally or morally. 

“The insanity defense sits at the nexus of a person’s mental illness symptoms and their decision-making abilities at the moment of the crime,” says Michele Galietta, associate professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. 

Galietta told WSR that juries often resist the strategy: “When terrible, scary, unpredictable things happen, there’s this feeling that ‘someone’s got to pay.’” 

But if the defendant presents a serious psychiatric history, especially of delusional disorders, the balance can tip. “Persecutory delusions of ‘someone’s out to get me’ can have a defendant believing their actions were in self-defense,” she says. A defendant with altruistic delusions can think killing someone would “save the world” from evil forces. 

Susan Trott. Photo courtesy of Eric Boscia.

Galietta says it’s important for jurors and the public to know a ‘not responsible’ verdict does not mean a ‘go free’ outcome. 

After an acquittal, court hearings assess the person’s dangerousness and determine appropriate confinement to a New York forensic psychiatric center. Evaluations and court oversight continue during treatment, sometimes for decades. “New York is fairly conservative,” Galietta says. “It’s very difficult to get out of prison.” 

Publicly available court filings have not revealed the specifics of Johnston’s expected psychiatric defense, if her attorney does proceed with one at trial. 

Among the witnesses listed to testify for the prosecution are a psychiatrist and Johnston’s former colleagues from Symphony Vet. A former co-worker told WSR that Johnston had been employed there as a veterinary assistant.

Victim’s friends await justice

Trott’s longtime friends continue to be baffled by the case and any possible motive behind Johnston’s alleged involvement. 

“Sue took people and animals under her wing,” Judy Segaloff told WSR in a recent interview. “If Sue knew somebody had mental illness or vulnerabilities, she would’ve been extra patient and kind with that person.” 

Susan Trott with her rescue pup Pink, feeding pigeons in Riverside Park. Photo courtesy of Eric Boscia.

While some locals found Trott to be a brash eccentric, her friends describe her as feisty phenom – still dreaming big at 70. “She had new business ideas she was thinking of starting. She was brimming with creativity,” remembers Segaloff. “Sue was brilliant and so much fun.” 

However long justice takes to arrive, Segaloff says only one outcome will satisfy her: “This person must be taken off the streets for life.” 

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T. Sato
T. Sato
1 year ago

Sue was such an advocate for animals, especially dogs. I worked with her in the 1980’s and still think of her whenever I walk by her WEA apartment.

9
Reply
Bill S.
Bill S.
1 year ago
Reply to  T. Sato

As do I. The last thing I said to her was, “How is that person doing who was wrapped in a sleeping bag and prepared to jump from the building?” She was a lovely person

0
Reply
Leon
Leon
1 year ago

Thank you very much for the update, particularly the legal explanation. I have a good friend who lived in the building so followed the situation very closely.

It is amazing how long these cases take. And meanwhile, the defendant sits in Rikers for years. It doesn’t make sense.

Also, as I understand it, there should be a fourth option – it seems like there is 1) innocent, 2) guilty, 3) insane. There should be 4) insane but we want to be 100% sure this person never walks the streets again. It sounds like this exists to some extent but “insane” should not leave any loopholes for them to be released if it is determined that she definitely committed the crime.

14
Reply
Josh
Josh
1 year ago

Trott used to drive me nuts throwing her bird seed all around the tree pits of our building when we were fighting a rat infestation. While she wouldn’t stop feeding the pigeons, she was always a nice person and I always appreciated how much she cared for animals. Especially her dogs. What happened to her dog? Was it there at the time? She definitely was eccentric, and she was a huge personality in the neighborhood. Maybe she is running around in fields now surrounded by dozens of dogs!

7
Reply
AdMan78
AdMan78
1 year ago
Reply to  Josh

Sue’s dog passed away before the murder, I think. One of the prior Rag stories said she had been living alone at the time. Seems like Sue was a true NY character. Wish I’d known her .

2
Reply
Josh
Josh
1 year ago
Reply to  AdMan78

I would take living alone to mean she was single. I know she had one who had passed away, but then she had a second one. If I remember correctly, Pink was the second?

0
Reply
UWSNeighbor
UWSNeighbor
1 year ago
Reply to  Josh

Her dogs had all passed prior to her death

0
Reply
B.B.
B.B.
1 year ago

Believe have mentioned before that NYT did an article several years ago on those confined to mental institutions after being found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Indeed most if not all often spend far more time locked up in a mental institution than they would have if sent to prison for original criminal charges.

There is no parole, time off for good behaviour, maximum time served or any of other options for early release offered to convicts for those sent to mental institutions. Latter will remain close confined until, when or if doctors determine are no longer “insane”.

Here is NYT article from 2017:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/27/magazine/when-not-guilty-is-a-life-sentence.html

0
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Mark Moore
Mark Moore
1 year ago
Reply to  B.B.

That’s the whole point, to confine the person until doctors think they’re not a danger to themselves or others. There’s no set timeline for that. Some of them get out sooner than they would have and all avoid prison.

1
Reply
Jess G.
Jess G.
1 year ago

I didn’t know her very well but I remember her having such an incredible presence in the neighborhood. I always admired her love and respect for her dogs. This inspired me to get one of my own. Hearing of her tragic passing was hard to wrap my head around considering the circumstances in which she passed. I hope for justice to be made not only for her but also for her loved ones who must be seeking closure.

2
Reply

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