Attorney Raises Insanity Defense for Wantage Man Accused of 2012 Murder

The attorney for a Wantage man accused of killing a Lake Neepaulin woman in 2012 has raised an insanity defense in the case. According to the New Jersey Herald, Harley Breite, the attorney for Victor Razumov, says he is awaiting a response from the state Office of the Public Defender in Trenton to approve an application for an expert witness.

Razumov, who was diagnosed with schizoeffective disorder, is accused of slitting Virginia "Suzy" Sommer's throat in her home while burglarizing it. Razumov was reportedly caught on camera pawning jewelry that he stole from the 73-year-old's home.

The 25-year-old's competency had been in question from the time of his arrest until last year when a judge ruled him competent to stand trial. He has previously testified that a week after the murder he was "drugged with acid" and that authorities planted evidence when they went to arrest him. In 2014 while in Trenton State Prison he gouged out his left eye and almost did the same to the right eye, leaving him blind. Razumov claims corrections officers did it after they drugged him with acid and maced him.

The charges against Razumov include first-degree murder, first-degree felony murder, and obstructing the state police's criminal investigation by attempting to destroy evidence.

Read the New Jersey Herald story here.

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