The only witness called to the stand at the trial without a jury for 47-year-old Leo Kwaske, was Jackson Police Detective Brett Stiles. He responded to the scene of the homicide at Reed Manor Apartments on October 15, last fall, and described the horrific scene in detail for Judge Thomas Wilson.
He described how he found the body of 59-year-old Shirley Meeks outside of her second floor apartment before heading upstairs, where Kwaske took her head.
"There was a strong odor coming from the bathroom. I also observed somewhere around six inches of water in the tub that appeared to be saturated in blood," said Stiles.
Kwaske says after he bludgeoned Meeks with a hammer, he beheaded her because she was sending "dark voodoo" from her apartment, up to his. He says voices in his head told him he needed to kill her before she caused Armageddon. He then washed her head because he believed it would keep her body from growing a new one.
Now Kwaske will return to the Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Ypsilanti, where he has been staying since his arrest. Only now, he may never leave again.
