Shane James trial: Forensic psychologist testifies about his delusions

AUSTIN, Texas - The trial of Shane James continues. He's accused of killing his parents, four other victims and injuring three others in 2023. 

Shane James trial: Day 7 

What they're saying:

The defense called their only witness, a forensic psychologist. 

Dr. Mollimichelle McClendon described James as having the most complicated delusional belief system she's ever encountered. She saw James a dozen times, and she believes he was insane at every shooting scene. 

She says James believes "laser masters" are controlling his mind and body. They target and harass him. He thinks he's a slave to the laser masters, and they attack his eyes and semen. He believed laser masters were involved with his family to get him. 

She says in jail, he's been fasting because voices tell him not to eat. Staff had to start tracking his food to make sure he was eating. Jail reports also say he would put his clothes in the toilet and then wear them wet. He was not showering due to hallucinations. 

Dr. McClendon says his belief system incorporates people from his past named Peggy and Darryl that can control him through light. She said James also talked about "escaping the grid." There were times he'd walk away from home without shoes or water. He thinks there are tracking devices in his shoes. He typically walked north for days, even warning people at a church in Austin once about escaping the grid. 

He assigns meaning to random things, like when someone said "flip-flop," he thought it meant the cult was stalking him. 

He even talked about wanting to have his testicles removed, so it'd be one less way for the lasers to get to him. He actually made a urology appointment with the VA. The doctor there thought he wanted transgender surgery. 

Dr. McClendon says all of this affected his day-to-day functioning. She said he masks the symptoms for other people. 

She doesn't think he knew the wrongfulness of each of the murders. He thought there were rubber bullets and didn't know the people were dead. At the crime scenes, she described him not believing in reality, hearing voices, and believing there were signs to shoot people. He thought police were controlled by laser masters. 

Notably, he didn't shoot Sabrina Rahman's baby. A journal entry he wrote said, "children are innocent and defenseless in an evil world."

Dr. McClendon said after he had received treatment at a state hospital, the voices were easier to ignore, and he had some realization that past hallucinations weren't there. She believes he still has some delusions but has improved. 

There are also things psychologists look out for to make sure a person isn't feigning symptoms to avoid prison time. She says symptoms that go back years, instead of showing up around the time of the crime, are a sign of not feigning. James had journal entries in 2017 about delusions.

What's next:

Prosecutors argue that James knew what he was doing was wrong.

In cross-examination, they argued that him choosing not to kill the baby was a rational decision. Dr. McClendon disagreed, saying he was still operating on his delusional beliefs. 

The prosecution will begin their rebuttal on Monday, Nov. 9.