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Dianne Rupp was found dead inside her apartment at 2654 W. Central Park Ave., Davenport. Her son, Andrew, has been charged with murder.

A Scott County judge ruled Thursday that a Davenport man accused of killing his mother with a power drill was not responsible for his actions.

Dianne Rupp’s body was found Feb. 16, 2021, in a residence in the 2600 block of West Central Park Avenue, Davenport.

Andrew Rupp, now 54, was initially charged with first-degree murder. He was also charged with possession of a controlled substance – second offense.

The state argued that Rupp frequently quarreled with his mother and that money may have been a motive for murder, while Rupp’s defense team argued Rupp, who is mentally ill, was insane at the time of the killing and not responsible for his actions.

Rupp asked for a bench trial, so Jeffrey Bert, the presiding judge, weighed the evidence and made the determination on Rupp’s culpability.

Bert ruled during a morning hearing Thursday that Rupp was not guilty by reason of insanity on the lesser included charges of second-degree murder and possession of a controlled substance – first offense.

“The evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Andrew Rupp was responsible for the death of his mother,” Bert wrote his report on his verdict. “The real issue in this tragic case was Andrew Rupp’s mental condition.”

Rupp has a mental illness that includes him at times experiencing delusions, hallucinations and disorganized thinking, among other things, according to information presented at trial.

A mental-health expert who testified for the defense said it appeared that Rupp was in a psychotic state and believed Dianne Rupp was not his mother but an imposter. He thought she had a “robotic device” in her skull, which he attempted to remove.

A power drill was the weapon used in the killing.

Crime-scene and autopsy photos showed what appeared to be drill-bit marks in the 77-year-old’s skull. A coroner’s report concluded she had been struck 28 times.

Robert Rupp, Andrew Rupp’s father, said after the hearing that the verdict was appropriate.

“I think it was fair and just,” Robert Rupp said.

At the hearing, Bert also ordered that Rupp, receive a psychiatric evaluation at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center-Oakdale in Coralville. He will also remain in custody without bond pending further proceedings.

Iowa code states that the chief medical officer at the reviewing facility will provide to the court an opinion and diagnosis about “whether the defendant is mentally ill and dangerous to the defendant’s self or to others.”

The chief medical officers findings must be reported to the court within 15 days, but there is an option for an extension of up to another 15 days, according to state code. The defense also has the option to have an independent evaluation performed.

Once the evaluation process is complete, there will be another hearing at which the court must determine whether the defendant is mentally ill and a danger to themselves or to others, according to state code.

If they are deemed not mentally ill or a danger, they are released, code states. If they are found to be mentally ill and a threat, then they can be committed to a state mental health facility or the state’s medical and security facility until they are deemed to no longer be mentally ill or a danger.

Barb Ickes contributed to this report.

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Dianne Rupp was found dead inside her apartment at 2654 W. Central Park Ave., Davenport. Her son, Andrew, has been charged with murder.

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