A Long Island man from a wealthy family, who argued he was brainwashed to kill his cousin’s former boyfriend, was on Monday convicted of attempted murder after a lengthy trial that featured expert witnesses, who testified about the effect of indoctrination on a weak psyche.
A Manhattan jury took just 50 minutes to find the man, Jacob Nolan, 23, guilty of all charges in connection with the bludgeoning and stabbing of Michael Weiss, an Upper West Side psychiatrist, in his home office on West 57th Street on Nov. 12, 2012.
Nolan showed no expression as the jury foreman read the verdict, while his mother broke into tears in the audience. He was found guilty of attempted murder, burglary and assault, and could be sentenced to between five and 25 years on the top charge.
Defense lawyers never disputed that Nolan, who had a history of mental illness, went to Weiss’ apartment that day with a sledgehammer and a knife in a duffel bag. Weiss testified that Nolan tried to hit him in the head with the sledgehammer, then stabbed him seven times before he was able to break free.
However, the defense argued that Nolan was not acting of his own volition. They said he had been programmed by Weiss’ former girlfriend, Pamela Buchbinder, who was involved in a bitter custody battle with Weiss over their young son.
In the weeks leading up to the attack, Nolan had been living with Buchbinder, a 43-year-old cousin, who is also a psychiatrist.
Defense lawyer Steven Brounstein said in his closing argument that Buchbinder had taken advantage of Nolan’s mental illness and submissive personality, indoctrinating him with the idea that Weiss had to be eliminated because he posed a threat to her son.
Brounstein contended Buchbinder had turned Nolan into a weapon, adding that Nolan was so brainwashed that he did not understand the consequences of his actions, sitting down after the attack and taking bloody photographs of himself rather than fleeing.
“He was putty,” Brounstein said. “He was sand in the hands of a master.”
However, lead prosecutor Linda Ford said that Nolan, though mentally ill, knew precisely what he was doing and intended to kill Weiss. She said his motive might have been to help Buchbinder because he craved her approval and love, but he still had the mental capacity to understand his acts.
“He is a young man, who is fully functional,” Ford said. “Mentally ill? Absolutely. He has bipolar disease. That does not turn him into a babbling idiot who has no control over his faculties.”
The night before the attack, Buchbinder and Nolan bought the sledgehammer at Home Depot, according to evidence presented at the trial. In addition, Buchbinder had drawn a map for Nolan, instructing him how to gain access to Weiss’ apartment.
Buchbinder has not been charged with any crime in connection with the assault.
Defense lawyers pleaded with State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Farber to take steps to ensure that Nolan, the son of a wealthy real-estate investor, continue to receive medication in prison. Farber said he would ask the New York City Department of Correction to place him on a suicide watch.
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