Raleigh man who drowned daughter claims insanity as murder trial begins

Alan Tysheen Eugene Lassiter, 33, went on trial Friday on charges of murder and two counts of attempted murder.

Defense attorney Lindsay Bass told jurors in her opening statement that Lassiter has suffered from mental illness for years and was never able to get help.

"His actions don’t make sense, but a person with this kind of mental illness is not rational. He was delusional," Bass said. "In his mind, he was doing the right thing."

Bass said he thought that the children would wind up in foster homes and be molested. "To save them from that, the only choice was to drown them," she said.

But prosecutor Boz Zellinger said Lassiter knew what he was doing.

"The defendant was aware of the circumstances, aware of the gravity of the situation," Zellinger told jurors. "He explained his actions as frustration and anger and that his behavior was planned and purposeful during the night in question."

Christopher Edgerton testified that he was in a parking lot near the apartment complex that night when a boy ran up to him for help. Edgerton said he had a problem with his truck and was the only person around.

"What he told me at that point was that his dad had killed his sisters and was looking for him and he needed help. He just needed help," Edgerton said.

Deputy David Earp lives near the Audubon Lake complex and said he rushed to help after the apartment manager called. He spotted the girls in the water, plunged in, grabbed one under each arm and pulled them to land.

Earp described giving CPR to the 3-year-old, saying he could taste the pond water in her mouth.

Testimony in the trial will continue Monday. The two surviving children are expected to testify at some point.