A Virginia man who had stabbed a stranger to death claiming the victim a “werewolf” has been barred from using social media after he concealed his violent past in his dating profile.
Pankaj Bhasin, 37, released conditionally after his three-year stay in a mental health facility, has stated in his Facebook dating profile that he recently got back “from two years of travel”.
He also claimed he was an “easy going adventurer who believes in universal connection”.
Alexandria Circuit Court Chief Judge Lisa Bondareff Kemler who ordered Bhasin to stay off social media during his conditional release, however, allowed him to use LinkedIn to look for a job.
Known as the ‘werewolf killer’, Bhasin stabbed a 65-year-old man, Brad Jackson, with a box cutter more than 50 times in Alexandria in July 2018. Bhasin broke his neck claiming he thought the victim was a mythical creature.
He claimed during his trial that he suffered a psychiatric break when carried out the savage attack on the merchant.
A year after the killing, he was found not guilty by “reason of insanity” and was sent to a mental health facility for three years.
Jackson’s friend Sarah Bryen who noticed Bhasin’s “deceptive” dating profile reported it to authorities.
“When you meet someone online, you never know who you’re going out on a date with for the most part,” Bryen told NBC News on Thursday, adding, “It could be a guy who stabbed someone 53 times.”
“He got out way sooner than anyone expected, and I don’t know what went through my mind [after she saw Bhasin’s social media presence] other than ‘Whoa,’” she said.
Bhasin’s dating profile has now been deleted.
However, his attorney Peter Greenspun said in a statement that his client “is doing extremely well” after “he worked exceedingly hard throughout his treatment” during his time in hospital.
“Due to his progress in the hospital setting, Mr. Bhasin was granted court-approved conditional release”, Greenspun said, adding his client expressed remorse for what he had done.
