A 34-year-old Salem CILA or Community Integrated Living Arrangement resident has been found not guilty by reason of insanity in Marion County Court for a stabbing of a CILA worker in January.
Tyler Watson was charged with three Class X offenses including two counts of attempted first-degree murder and armed violence as well as a Class 3 felony of aggravated battery. He was accused of exiting the CILA home where he lived on Schroeder Drive and assaulting the worker who was sitting in a car in the driveway of the home. Watson reportedly stabbed the worker, who has not been publicly identified, numerous times with a kitchen knife. She was later transferred to a St. Louis Hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries after driving from the home and crashing into a yard in the 500 block of Airport Road. The victim is still undergoing medical treatment for her injuries.
After the agreed-upon verdict was entered in a stipulated bench trial by Judge Mark Stedelin, Watson was ordered to the care of the Illinois Department of Human Services for mental health treatment until July 2047 which is equivalent to the maximum prison term he would have received on the charges pending against him.
Watson will be back in court for a status report on September 13th and will then have his treatment reviewed every 90 days to determine the appropriateness of his treatment.
The judge reviewed the witness statements and Dr. Cuneo’s report on Watson before issuing the verdict.
