Accused Idaho Man Tells Newspaper 'I'm Pretty Much Possessed'

By: E&P Staff An Idaho man accused of killing two people and suspected in wounding a third said in a jailhouse interview that he has a history of mental illness, including schizophrenia, and feels "possessed."

John Delling, 21, said he drove more than 6,000 miles around the western United States in search of people who had hurt him in the past.

"I didn't have any intent to kill people, let me put it that way," he told The Idaho Statesman. "I'm pretty much possessed. I have no control over my body."

Delling is scheduled to stand trial next year in the April 2 slaying of Bradley Morse. He also is charged with first-degree murder in the March 31 shooting death of University of Idaho student David Boss and is a suspect in a March 20 shooting that injured University of Arizona student Jacob Thompson.

Delling, Thompson and Boss were classmates at a Boise high school, and Delling met Morse over the Internet through video games the two played, police said.

In Monday's interview from the Ada County Jail in Boise, Delling told reporters he had been sexually and mentally abused during his childhood and that another person was involved in the killings.

Authorities say that claim is part of his delusions. "There's nothing to indicate that anyone else was involved other than John Delling," said Andrea Dearden, a spokeswoman for the county sheriff's office.

Delling's parents have said previously that their son was mentally ill and they did everything "under the law and in our power" to prevent him from harming others.

Delling can't use the insanity defense, because Idaho law bars it. Still, his mental health could be a mitigating factor in his cases.

Delling said he has been diagnosed by a psychiatrist as schizophrenic and is being given medication in jail. He was uncertain if the medication helped his condition, which he said stemmed from abuse as a teen by another youth. Delling gave the interview against the advice of his lawyers, who declined to discuss his case.