OMAHA — During a brief bench trial Tuesday, an Omaha man who shot his mother and sister to death last year was found not responsible by reason of insanity.
Fernandez Mason, 23, will be returned to the Lincoln Regional Center, where he has been committed since February, for further treatment. Douglas County District Court Judge LeAnne Srb ruled that Mason was criminally insane when he shot and killed his mother, 55-year-old Lisa Cannon, and sister, 30-year-old Marquesha Cannon, last July.
Srb made her decision after reviewing an evaluation from doctors at the Lincoln Regional Center, the contents of which have not been made public.
It took Mason just a matter of hours to obtain a firearm permit from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, purchase a gun and kill the two women in the apartment they shared, according to prosecutor Kevin Ryan. Mason had a minimal criminal history before the killings and no felony record.
When interviewed after the killings, Ryan said, Mason reportedly told officers that he “received signs from unknown people in the community to kill his mother.â€
Lisa and Marquesha Cannon were found dead on July 13, 2023, after a neighbor called 911 to request a wellness check on Lisa, who was terminally ill and had not answered her phone since the night prior, according to court documents.
When deputies with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office entered the home through an unlocked door shortly after 9 p.m. that evening, they first found Lisa’s body in a pool of blood on the floor of the master bedroom. Her body had been covered with a sheet and a blanket.
Marquesha’s body was found underneath a box spring in the home’s second bedroom. Both women had been shot.
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While deputies were processing the scene, Mason arrived in the apartment parking lot. After being informed of Lisa and Marquesha’s deaths, Mason agreed to be interviewed and was transported to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. A handgun was found in the center console of his vehicle.
After being advised of his Miranda rights, Mason admitted to the killings. He told deputies he purchased the gun that same morning at about 10 or 11 a.m. before carrying out the killings in the midafternoon. He then disposed of the clothing he was wearing during the shooting in various dumpsters across the city before returning to the crime scene.
Defense attorneys for Mason filed a notice of intent to rely on the insanity defense almost immediately after he was charged. He faced two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of use of a firearm to commit a felony.
Mason was initially deemed incompetent to stand trial, but was considered restored to competency in May. In February, Srb signed an order allowing doctors at the Regional Center to administer involuntary medications to Mason.
Competency to stand trial and criminal insanity are different legal concepts. If there are concerns that a defendant is not able to understand the proceedings against them or actively participate in their defense, the defendant is often committed to the Lincoln Regional Center for “competency restoration.â€
A defendant — like Mason — can be restored to competency, meaning they can understand the legal proceedings against them but still be deemed to have been criminally insane at the time of the crime, meaning they did not understand the consequences of their actions or know right from wrong due to a mental disease or defect.
Mason’s commitment at the Lincoln Regional Center will be reviewed in 90 days by Srb. He was deemed on Tuesday to be a continued risk to himself and others.