Former Marine sentenced to life without possibility of parole for fatal stabbing

VISTA (CNS) - A triathlete and former Marine, who fatally stabbed a plumber-in-training at a construction site in Oceanside because he claimed a secret government agency was controlling him through the use of nanobot technology, was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Mikhail Schmidt, 33, was convicted last month of the March 8, 2017, murder of Jacob Bravo, to which the defendant had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Schmidt's conviction triggered a second phase of the trial, in which jurors determined days later that he was sane at the time of the murder, according to Deputy District Attorney Cal Logan.

Bravo was found with multiple stab wounds in a trailer on the site on Windward Way. The 37-year-old victim and Schmidt apparently did not know one another.

Along with finding Schmidt guilty of first-degree murder, jurors found true a special circumstance allegation of committing the murder while lying in wait, making him eligible for the life without parole sentence.

In the penalty phase of the trial, Schmidt claimed that during his time in the Marines, he received a series of mandatory vaccinations, some of which included nanobots, which were activated on the night of the murder by a secret government agency called Agent Orange.

According to the prosecution, Schmidt told a different story to police following his arrest, in which he said he "missed the thrill" and ``had the taste of blood in his mouth.''

Though Schmidt was deployed to Iraq in 2008, there were conflicting statements at trial regarding how much combat he may have experienced. He was honorably discharged from the military about five years later.