Man accused of fatally stabbing wife to undergo mental health evaluation

AYER, Mass. — A Groton man accused of fatally stabbing his wife over the weekend is set to undergo a mental health evaluation.

Following his arraignment at Ayer District Court on Monday, 62-year-old Gregory Fairbarn was sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for treatment.

Gregory, who is accused of killing his wife after stabbing her multiple times, told police he suffers from bipolar disorder and had not taken his medicine for five months.

At the scene, at around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, police found 57-year-old Mary Fairbarn lying on a bed in a pool of blood with 27 stab wounds. Gregory called the police to report he had murdered his wife.

According to police, a mumbling and incoherent Gregory approached responding officers in the driveway, telling them, "I killed my wife, just put a bullet in me."

Police found the weapon while arresting Gregory, who told them he had used his 3-inch pocket knife to stab Mary.

Just before the alleged stabbing, Gregory told police he picked up his wife's phone and saw "things" on it.

In court, a psychologist backed up Gregory's claim that he suffered from a mental health illness, recommending he be sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for further evaluation.

"He appeared confused," said Dr. Alan Schoenberg, a court psychologist. "There appeared to be thought-blocking. That he would start a sentence and seemed unable to complete the sentence. He did indicate that he has had some memory problems."

Following a quick mental health evaluation ordered by the judge, experts recommended he be immediately hospitalized.

"Mr. Fairbairn did indicate that he has had issues with depression, however, he was not able to give me a rating zero to ten where his current depression lies," said Dr. Schoenberg.

Gregory will now undergo evaluation and tests at Bridgewater State Hospital in order to determine is he's competent to stand trial. He is being held without bail.

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