A San Diego man accused in the shooting deaths of his parents nearly two years ago has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Peter David Haynes is charged with two counts of murder in the slayings of emergency physician Dr. David Haynes, 62, and Lissa Haynes, 61, in their Sunset Cliffs home.

If a Superior Court jury finds that the son not only committed the killings but was legally insane at the time he did so, he would be sent to a state mental hospital instead of prison.

Haynes, 24, is accused of fatally shooting his parents on Nov. 28, 2014 — the day after Thanksgiving — at their home on Tarento Drive.


A San Diego police officer testified at a preliminary hearing that he was first to arrive at the home that morning, where he found the couple suffering from gunshot wounds.

The officer said David Haynes was still alive, so he asked what happened. Haynes said he had been shot by his son, who has schizophrenia.

Peter Haynes was arrested later that morning as police noticed him trying to duck under police tape. He was carrying a gun, police said.

In addition to two counts of murder, Haynes faces special-circumstance allegations of multiple murders and lying in wait that allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty in his case.


In June, however, the District Attorney’s Office announced it would not seek Haynes’ execution, meaning he would likely be sentenced to life in prison without parole if convicted of double murder.

The insanity plea means Haynes’ trial will be handled in two parts. The first is the guilt phase, when a jury would be asked to determine whether he committed the crimes as charged. The second is the sanity phase, when the same jury would be asked to decide whether he was legally sane at the time of the killings.

To find Haynes insane, a jury must conclude that he did not understand the nature and quality of the crimes — at the time he committed them — and did not know the acts were morally or legally wrong.

dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com