Jeffrey Yao, Accused In Deadly Stabbing At Winchester Library, Found Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity

WINCHESTER (CBS) -- A man accused of killing a woman in the Winchester Library was found not guilty by reason of insanity Wednesday. Jeffrey Yao will now be committed to Bridgewater State Hospital, likely for the rest of his life.

Yao was charged with murdering 22-year-old Deane Stryker at the library in 2018 in a random attack.

Prosecutors said the attack upon Stryker, an aspiring doctor, was unprovoked while she was sitting at a library table. A 77-year-old man was also stabbed while he attempted to stop Yao.

The trial was quick, as the only witnesses were a doctor and the defendant. There was no jury in the trial; the ruling was made by a judge.

Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said the judge's decision "acknowledges the seriousness of the mental illness that this defendant is living with." She said Stryker's family is requesting privacy at this time.

"Deanne Stryker was an amazing young woman planning a life full of promise and service," Ryan said in a statement. "No outcome in this case can ever diminish the great tragedy of her death or fill the void left in the lives of her mother, sisters and others who loved her."