Killer Sentenced to Life in State Mental Hospital

Leonard James Patton pleaded guilty Monday to the 1994 murder of a Huntington Harbour woman and was ordered to serve a life sentence in a state mental hospital.

His family, many of whom attended Monday’s hearing in Orange County Superior Court, had tried more than three years ago--before the killing--to have Patton committed to a mental institution but was unsuccessful.

Superior Court Judge John J. Ryan said Monday that Patton, now 32, was out of touch with reality when he bludgeoned to death 47-year-old Jessica Uniack after their cars collided on Pacific Coast Highway in Seal Beach in December 1994.

Patton had disappeared the previous day from his home in St. Anthony, Minn.

“I’m thankful they’re putting him in the hospital,” said Patton’s sister, Mary Korby. “He’s not hard. He’s not street smart. He wouldn’t survive in prison.”

Members of Patton’s family said the 1994 incident happened only because they could not get him long-term psychiatric care in Minnesota.

About six months before Patton’s attack on Uniack, family members said, his usually gentle demeanor changed, and he began having tantrums and fits of rage.

He was diagnosed with a bi-polar disorder that rapidly worsened through the summer and fall of 1994. He was given medication to control his condition but often failed to take it.

The family tried having him committed but never got through the court proceedings.

“The system really broke down,” said Patton’s brother, Bob.

Only hours after disappearing from Minnesota and arriving in California, Patton was in the accident that led to the attack on Uniack.

In a court scene devoid of acrimony, members of the Uniack family embraced Patton’s siblings and parents after the hearing.

Bill Uniack, Jessica Uniack’s husband, said he was pleased with the outcome of the trial.

“I think it’s better for everyone,” he said. “The best place for him is where he can’t be out harming somebody.”