Sheffield Lake man found not guilty, insane in 1994 killing of his father denied release

A mentally ill man who stabbed and killed his father more than 30 years ago in their Sheffield Lake home will remain hospitalized in state custody for at least two more years, a Lorain County Common Pleas judge has ruled. Judge Raymond Ewers denied Ricardo Punsalan's request for conditional release and reduced restrictions in an Oct. 21 ruling. The written ruling followed a hearing in April where Ewers considered arguments and expert reports recommending his conditional release from custody at Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare. "While Northcoast believes that the least restrictive environment that can meet Punsalan's needs is a conditional release to the community, this court disagrees," Ewers wrote. "By possessing a 'susbstantial' risk to others, release to the community, at this time, is not appropriate and this change in commitment conditions is hereby denied." State law said Ewers had to consider a variety of factors, including whether Punsalan, 52, is a risk of harm to himself or others and consider his current condition, whether he will continue to seek treatment if released and his past history. This reconsideration happens every two years. The Lorain County Prosecutor's Office had objected to a conditional release and reduced restrictions. A message seeking comment on the ruling was left for Jenifer Berki, Punsalan's attorney. Ewers wrote that Punsalan has a long history of abusing legal and illegal drugs and has multiple mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and other personality disorders. Ricardo Punsalan's first auditory hallucinations were at age 7, followed by visual hallucinations at age 12, self-cutting, several suicide attempts and religious hallucinations and delusions that have continued into the current decade. He was 20 years old when he stabbed his father, Dr. Ernesto Punsalan, to death in February 1994. Ernesto Punsalan was asleep after a shift at Elyria Memorial Hospital, now known as University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center, when he was killed. Ricardo Punsalan had been released from a psychiatric hospital less than a day earlier. Prosecutors said he planned the murder while in the psychiatric hospital and "prayed for strength" before "the voice of God commanded him to perform" the fatal attack. Ricardo Punsalan thought he was Jesus Christ; thought his father was Satan, wasn't his "real" father and had him under surveillance; and that his mother and siblings were other figures from the Bible, according to court records. He was found not guilty of aggravated murder by reason of insanity in Common Pleas Court in 1996, committed by court order and has remained in custody in several mental health facilities ever since. Ricardo Punsalan was hospitalized for psychiatric reasons approximately 30 times between 1988 and 1994 in Ohio and Kansas. He has had anxiety, panic attacks, anger, delusions, impulsive and violent behavior, self-harming behavior and was caught illegally selling cigarettes while in custody, according to court records. As recently as 2022, Ricardo Punsalan still referred to his father as "the devil," according to Ewers' ruling. Ricardo's sister Elizabeth was an ice dancer who, despite her father's death two weeks earlier, still competed in the event during the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. She and her partner finished in 15th place. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.