Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 17, 1994 TAG: 9411170122
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
They met, he says, in group therapy last spring, and as the man and woman became better friends, so did their multiple personalities, who fell in love and talked of marriage.
Now Edward B. Kelly, 44, of Falls Church has been charged with breaking into the woman's Prince William County home, binding her hands with wire and raping her.
Kelly says he didn't do such a thing, claiming instead that the incident was one of consensual sex between ``Spirit'' - one of 30 personalities that inhabit his body - and ``Laura'' - one of the woman's many selves.
``There was no forcing ... there was no hurting anybody,'' Kelly is quoted in court papers as telling investigators. ``Spirit loved Laura.''
The case of Kelly, who was indicted this month on three counts of statutory burglary, rape and forcible sodomy, could push Prince William County Circuit Court - scene of the Lorena and John Bobbitt trials - into the legal spotlight again as lawyers hash out the question of guilt in a case that involves multiple personalities.
Kelly is scheduled to go on trial Feb. 15.
Multiple-personality disorder is defined by psychiatric specialists as the existence of two or more distinct personalities or states within a person. But there is controversy about the problem.
Unlike schizophrenia, which can involve hallucinations and delusions and is considered a mental illness, multiple-personality disorder can be manifested by people to mask other problems, some mental health professionals say.
The disorder has been used as a defense in other rape cases, including an Arizona case in which eight of the defendant's 11 personalities took the stand, and a Wisconsin case in which the defendant claimed that one of the victim's personalities gave consent. But this case is unusual in that both parties say they suffer from the disorder.
According to defense and prosecution attorneys, both Kelly, an unemployed courier, and the woman he is accused of raping have undergone long-term treatment for mental problems. According to court documents, Kelly said he was not aware of his multiple personalities until December 1993, and he now attributes many of his problems to his other selves.
In an earlier trial, Kelly was convicted of stalking the woman before the alleged rape. His attorney said the case is under appeal and will be readdressed after the February felony trial.
According to court documents, Kelly repeatedly had left pictures of naked men and women on the woman's doorstep. Kelly told police that the woman was suicidal, and ``Spirit'' was using the pictures to scare her and prevent her from killing herself.
According to court papers, Kelly said he had no memory of being at the woman's house. He said that ``Spirit'' may have been there but that he had no reason to question him.
``Spirit's not a child,'' Kelly told police. ``Spirit doesn't come running to me and tell me everything he does. ... There's never been a reason to know every jot and title of each other's lives. It's not how it works.''
John Parry, director of the American Bar Association's Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law, said he knows of about a dozen cases involving multiple-personality disorder reported in the last year. In each, he said, the legal issues were complex.
``Even if you accept that the person has multiple personalities, how does the law deal with that person?'' Parry asked. ``Do you deal with them as a whole person or individual personalities?''
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney James Willett, who will prosecute Kelly, characterized the defendant as sophisticated and coherent based on a preliminary mental-health evaluation.
``He's intelligent,'' Willett said. ``We don't believe that he can simply revert to his personality `Spirit' and launch himself violently at women ... and then come back to his old self and say he's not responsible. We're going to do everything we can to prevent this kind of scam from being perpetrated.''
Anne Godson, Kelly's attorney, said her client will plead not guilty.
``He claims he didn't do it,'' Godson said. ``This woman has the same remarkable psychiatric background that he does, and she's mistaken.''
by CNB