"Apparently a mental illness was detected but not enough to mitigate his knowledge of the crime against him or affect his ability to (work with) his counsel," Johnson said.

In 2005, Michael Kirsch pleaded guilty to a class A misdemeanor for assault on a police officer; he spent a year in prison in conjunction with the earlier assault conviction.

Kirsch was released from prison in March 2007. Prosecutors were unsure of his parole status Sunday evening.

"He has a history of violence, but he's not been judged incompetent," Johnson said. "He's always had some sort of plea, served jail (or prison) time, but this time it certainly got out of control."

Prosecutors and police officers searched the Kirsch home and found medication for mental illness, Johnson said. Police recovered the knife they say was used in the slaying.

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