A 42-year-old man accused of murdering his father, a Winnipeg businessman, in a southern Minnesota hotel room last year may escape a criminal trial due to a mental illness.

In court documents, Sean Francis Clancy claims he was mentally ill at the time of the slaying and suffers from a condition which makes him a danger to public safety, so he's seeking to be committed to a Minnesota state hospital or other psychiatric facility for treatment.

His lawyer, Peter Wold, said he's working behind the scenes with a county attorney to have Clancy found not criminally responsible due to a mental illness and committed.

"We all agree he's not criminally responsible. Our plan is to submit a stipulation to a judge where he's found not guilty due to mental illness," Wold said.

If that happens, Clancy would undergo another psychiatric evaluation and a civil commitment hearing in front of a judge to determine where he would be held and what kind of treatment he would receive, Wold said.

Wold said Clancy has a "delusional illness." He's charged with second-degree murder in the July 2008 slaying of his 69-year-old father James Francis Clancy, known to family and friends as Frank Clancy.

The documents claim there's a "substantial likelihood" Clancy will seriously injure someone again, according to a petition for committal filed in Olmsted County district court in Rochester, Minn.

The petition is supported by a letter from a psychologist and a psychiatric report, and states that several people are willing to back Sean Clancy up -- including his wife Melanie, his mother Valerie and professionals who have treated him.

Argument

"His family is universally open to get the best care possible for him and return him to normal," Wold said.

Sean Clancy's wife and mother declined to comment.

For now, Sean Clancy is being held at the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center in Rochester. He was living in Eads, Tenn., at the time of the homicide.

A housekeeper found Frank Clancy's body in a room at the Holiday Inn Express in downtown Rochester, about 140 km southeast of the Twin Cities.

He had been strangled with a towel, allegedly by his son during an argument, according to a criminal complaint.

The pair was in Rochester because Sean Clancy was receiving treatment at the Mayo Clinic.

Police allege Sean Clancy fled the hotel and was arrested at the Mayo Clinic after he told a nurse about the slaying. A judge has ruled that statement inadmissible at trial because they're protected by medical privilege.

First, Sean Clancy called and told his wife of the slaying and she notified police, who arrived shortly after the housekeeper entered the room, the criminal complaint stated.

Frank Clancy was a married father of three adult children and grandfather of several kids. He owned a business which manufactures heating equipment.

chris.kitching@sunmedia.ca