Man Who Had ‘Out-Of-Body Experience’ When He Killed Mother Sentenced To 50 Years

A Waco man with a history of mental illness was sentenced to 50 years in prison after he pleaded guilty on Thursday to killing his mother with a hammer.

Fox 44 News reported that Waco Police responded to a domestic disturbance at a home In May 2021. When officers arrived at the neighborhood, they found Lonnie Paul Bishop, 34, on the front porch. He allegedly told police that he had killed his mother, according to the outlet. 

Officers arrested Bishop and entered the home. There, they located a woman lying on a bed with injuries that appeared to be blunt force trauma, reported Fox 44. Authorities pronounced her dead at the scene and later identified her as Yun Bishop, 57, of Waco. 

Bishop allegedly told police that he had killed his mother with a hammer; officers located a bloody hammer and hatchet in the home's kitchen, according to the Waco Tribune-Herald. 

A neighbor allegedly told police she had been on the phone with Mrs. Bishop during the attack and Mrs. Bishop asked her to call 911 for help, according to the Tribune.  

“The friend then heard the phone taken away from the victim and over an open line she heard multiple loud thumps over the phone,” the Tribune reported, citing the affidavit. 

Bishop was charged with murder and taken to McLennan County Jail where he remains.  

Bishop’s lawyer, Jonathan Sibley, claimed that his client has struggled with mental health issues for years, according to local CBS affiliate KWTX-TV. 

“I wish there had been intervention earlier so he could have gotten what he needed to keep him to the point where we didn’t end up here today,” Sibley said, per KWTX.

“I think that ultimately led to why he is here. It is a sad situation for him and obviously for all of his family. They lost their mother, but they are also losing him, too, and even though he has struggled with mental health issues, he is still part of the family. It is just a sad situation all the way around.”

At his lawyer’s request, Bishop was evaluated to determine whether he was sane at the time of the attack and if he is competent to stand trial. Waco psychologist, Lee Carter, concluded that Bishop was sane and competent.

Carter did diagnosed Bishop with anti-social personality disorder, major depressive disorder and PTSD, which he attributed to the trauma of being raised by alcoholic and abusive parents, according to KWTX.

Bishop — who served three years of a six-year term for hitting several of his family members with a gun in 2017 — allegedly told Carter that he felt “disconnected” from his emotions.

“It was like an out-of-body experience,” Bishop said, per KWTX. “That day it happened, I couldn’t even say I was acting like myself.”