Virginia Supreme Court Held Slayer Statute Incudes Persons With Mental Illness

As I have previously discussed, on December 7,2009, Carolyn Osman died from strangulation. She left behind three kids all ofwhich were beneficiaries to her estate. However, one of her sons Michael Osman caused her death. Osmansuffered from paranoid schizophrenia and strangled his mother. He confessed to causing her death and was found not guilty by reason of insanity. 

In Osman v. Osman, the court held that a beneficiary found not guilty by reason of insanity is disqualified under slayer’s statute. The Supreme Court of Virginia held that son was disqualified from taking a share of the decedent’s estate under Virginia’s slayer’s statute. 

Osman v. Osman, 737 S.E.2d 879 (Va. 2013).

Special thanks to William LaPiana (Professor of Law, New York Law School) for bringing this case to my attention.