Hinckley hearing focuses on his relationships
John Hinckley Jr.’s relationships with women and his difficulties becoming part of a community away from a government mental hospital were spotlighted Thursday during a hearing to discuss whether the man who tried to kill President Ronald Reagan will eventually be allowed to live as an outpatient.
An official at St. Elizabeths Hospital, where Hinckley, 56, has lived for decades after being found not guilty by reason of insanity, said Hinckley had been engaged to another patient identified only as “Miss CB,” but the engagement had recently ended.
Dr. Tyler Jones, the facility’s director of psychiatry, said Hinckley had given the woman “multiple rings.”
Jones said Hinckley had told him he’d explained to CB he planned to spend more time visiting his mother’s home in Virginia and would be spending less time with her. As a result of that conversation, “she’s withdrawn the physical affection that they shared,” Jones said.
Federal prosecutor Colleen Kennedy also questioned Jones about Hinckley’s past relationship with a patient identified as “Miss X.” Kennedy said Hinckley had difficulty communicating with the woman because she was so psychotic, but he pursued the relationship because she was physically affectionate.
Jones described Hinckley’s actions as “poor judgment” motivated by his “desire for affection.”
According to Jones, another doctor told Hinckley the relationship was ill-advised and eventually Hinckley ended it.
Hinckley has been spending 10 days a month visiting his mother in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he works part time as a volunteer in the library at Eastern State Hospital, a mental health facility. Doctors have been encouraging him to make friends in Williamsburg and build a new life.