Man acquitted of murder because of insanity escapes hospital

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A 29-year-old man acquitted by reason of insanity of murder in the 2013 stabbing death of his father in Austin has escaped from a state hospital to which he was committed.

Police said staff at the North Texas State Hospital in Vernon, near the Oklahoma border, reported Alexander Scott Ervin missing from the hospital early Monday morning.

A review of the hospital’s security video revealed that Ervin left his dormitory room late Sunday night and scaled the hospital’s 8-foot security fence before heading north on foot.

A Travis County jury in 2014 found Ervin, who is autistic, not guilty of murder by reason of insanity in Ray Scott Ervin’s death.