The jury in dressage trainer Michael Barisone’s attempted murder case continued deliberations today and left this afternoon without returning a verdict. The panel of 10 men and two women has asked to have the lengthy testimony of defense psychiatrist Dr. Steven Simring replayed for them tomorrow in Morristown, N.J.
They’ll be watching video of the doctor being questioned by lead defense attorney Edward Bilinkas, as well as a cross-examination by Morris County Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Schellhorn. Simring concluded Barisone suffered not only from delusional disorder, but also was dealing with persistent depressive disorder, noting he had been seeing a therapist for years.
Bilinkas mounted an insanity defense for Barisone, the 2008 U.S. Olympic dressage team alternate. The trainer did not take the witness stand, but he had told several people after his student Lauren Kanarek was shot twice in the chest that he did not remember the Aug. 7, 2019 incident. He had been trying to evict Kanarek and her boyfriend, Robert Goodwin, from his Long Valley, N.J. farm, before driving to their home on the property with a handgun in his truck
The jury’s interest in having another look at Simring’s testimony would seem to indicate they are weighing a verdict of not guilty due to insanity. Interestingly, to this point, the jury did not ask to see the prosecution’s expert, psychologist, Dr. Louis Schelsinger, who was skeptical about Barisone being able to remember what happened before and after the shooting, but not the incident itself.