Mistrial Declared in Hilbun Sanity Case

SANTA ANA —  A judge declared a mistrial Monday after jurors tried unsuccessfully for 17 days to determine if Mark Richard Hilbun was insane when he went on a rampage in 1993, opening fire at a Dana Point post office and terrorizing the community for two days.

Jurors, clearly exhausted, said everyone agreed that the former postal worker, 42, had mental problems. But they were evenly divided on the question of whether he knew what he was doing.

The rampage began when Hilbun stabbed his 63-year-old mother, Frances, to death in her Corona del Mar home and killed her cocker spaniel.

Hilbun, donning a T-shirt with “Psycho” written on it, headed to the Dana Point post office where he had worked. He opened fire on three co-workers, killing Charles T. Barbagallo, 42, of San Clemente.

After fleeing in his pickup, Hilbun shot and injured two other people in Dana Point. He tried to rob people at two automated teller machines in Fountain Valley, shooting and injuring one couple. He was captured as he sat sipping a beer at a neighborhood sports bar in Huntington Beach.

Hilbun was found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of attempted murder and other felony charges.

The sanity issue was crucial because Hilbun faced a possible death penalty if jurors had found him sane during the crime rampage, which defense lawyers contend was driven by delusions.

Defense attorneys, who had the burden of proving Hilbun was insane, will ultimately decide if they want a retrial on the sanity issue.