Daniel Denny
A local man accused of stabbing his roommate to death late last spring has decided not to seek an insanity defense.
Through his attorney, Daniel Denny, 20, notified Bartholomew Circuit Court Judge Kelly Benjamin of his desire to have a jury trial during a change of plea hearing on Jan. 13, according to a court spokeswoman. On Jan. 24, a motion to withdraw the originally planned insanity defense was approved by the judge.
The defendant is charged with murder for the June 1, 2021 stabbing death of one of his three roommates, Eric Cavanaugh. Both the defendant and the victim were 19 at the time, living together with two others in a unit on Roberts Drive in the Quail Run Apartment complex.
While Benjamin granted the defense requests, the current trial date for Denny is set for Tuesday, Feb. 15.
According to a probable cause affidavit, a third roommate told investigators he came downstairs and first saw Denny standing above Cavanaugh before the defendant stabbed the already-wounded victim again with a knife.
The fourth roommate, who locked himself and another person inside a bedroom and called 911, told police that the defendant “began shaking the door and tried to talk to him,” the affidavit states.
When police arrived at the scene, officers asked Denny and another roommate about who had done the stabbing. Denny raised his hand and admitted that he did it, the affidavit states.
While in the ambulance, the victim told officers he had no fight or argument with the defendant, according to court affidavits. Nevertheless, Cavanaugh said Denny began explaining to him “why he was going to hurt me” before the stabbing took place in their apartment, the affidavit stated. The victim died a short time after arriving at Columbus Regional Hospital.
A 2020 graduate of Columbus East High School, Eric Cavanaugh had been a Boy Scout who enjoyed camping. The son of Kyle and Susanne Cavanaugh of Columbus also enjoyed Japanese animation and graphic novels.
On July 12, Monroe filed notice with the court that Denny might seek a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. Such a strategy could result in an individual being ordered to a period of civil commitment if the judge finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that the person is mentally ill and either dangerous or gravely disabled.
Invoking an insanity defense in the state of Indiana means the defense has the responsibility to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant suffers from a mental disease or defect.
The defense also has to prove the psychological problem rendered the defendant unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of their conduct at the time of the offense.
State law requires two court-appointed psychiatrists to examine a defendant using an insanity defense, and to testify to their evaluation in court. After Indianapolis psychiatrists Don Olive and George Parker examined Denny, Olive submitted his confidential findings to the court on Oct. 4, while Parker’s report was received on Oct. 19.
One week after Parker’s report arrived, the defense asked for a delay in upcoming hearings. Those requests were approved by Benjamin, who set a change of plea hearing on Jan. 13. That was the day Denny first expressed his desire in open court to have a jury trial, a court spokeswoman said.
