MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — A Portuguese model accused of murdering and mutilating his older lover at the InterContinental Hotel Times Square was having a "manic episode" on the night of the gruesome attack, the alleged killer's attorney said Tuesday.
Lawyer David Touger filed the results of defendant Renato Seabra's psychiatric evaluation during a brief court appearance Tuesday, and told reporters he plans to argue that Seabra is not guilty as a result of mental problems.
"He was suffering from a manic episode that night," Touger said, adding that Seabra is now medicated.
Seabra's exact diagnosis was placed into the court file and sealed. Touger declined to discuss the precise nature of the psychiatric findings, and would not say whether Seabra had a history of the disorder of whether he'd been treated for it in the past.
Seabra appeared in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday wearing form fitting white jeans and a snug grey and white patterned t-shirt.
He is accused of brutally beating 65-year-old gay rights activist Carlos Castro before stabbing him with a corkscrew and severing his genitalia from his body.
Assistant District Attorney Maxine Rosenthal said the DA's office plans to have their own expert evaluate the suspect.
Seabra is due back in court on Aug. 4.
