LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A judge has acquitted a Lincoln man of killing his wife, saying the man was insane at the time.

Lancaster County District Judge John Colborn said Tuesday that because of Kent Burklund’s mental disorder, Burklund didn’t know right from wrong at the time he killed Bettina Burklund in April 2014. Defense and prosecution experts have agreed that Kent Burklund suffered from a mental illness.

Colborn says in his ruling that “the court acquits solely on the grounds of insanity.”

Police went to the Burklunds’ home to check on Bettina Burklund when she didn’t show up for work. She was dead, her head severed.

Kent Burklund told investigators he was afraid of his wife and believed gang members had poisoned him.