Billy Milligan gained notoriety after being found not guilty by reason of insanity for three rapes committed in October 1977 near the Ohio State University campus.
The Central Ohio man was diagnosed with multiple personality disorder which led to the verdict.
For the past 14 years, Milligan appears to have led a quiet life. No one seemed to know where he was, but 10TV has now confirmed that Milligan died at Mount Carmel East Hospital in Columbus over the weekend.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien helped indict Mulligan on rape and kidnapping charges back in 1977. Nearly 40 years later, he says he still gets calls from the media. “Kind of like 'where's Billy Milligan now?' And frankly, until you called me, I didn't know he was back in the Columbus area.”
Milligan claimed to have 24 different people living inside of him. Doctors diagnosed him with multiple personality disorder. The court agreed he committed the rapes but wasn’t responsible for them.
O’Brien says the victims did not buy it. “I think their take was what some of the public thought - that it was a ruse to avoid prosecution.”
A judge found Milligan not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to a mental health center.
His story was the basis of a book entitled The Minds of Billy Milligan. Ten years later, doctors believed Milligan was well enough to return to society.
Insanity pleas haven't changed much since the 1970s, but since Milligan faced the court, the justice system has evolved and changed the way it deals with defendants who suffer mental illness.
In 2004, Franklin County created a mental health court where a judge can order mental health assessments, and defendants accused of misdemeanor crimes can face court ordered treatment plans.
WEB EXTRA - FROM WIKIPEDIA, AN ACCOUNT OF MILLIGAN'S PERSONALITIES
The Ten
These ten are the alters whom personalities "Ragen" and "Arthur" decided were not "undesirable." They freely shared consciousness, and doctors quickly learned of their existences.
Billy Milligan (William Stanley Milligan) is the core personality.
Arthur is an extremely sophisticated and educated Englishman. An expert in science and medicine, with a focus on hematology. He is in "the spot" – that is, in charge of the shared body – during times that required intellectual thinking. Arthur is one of only two personalities who could classify a person in the group as an undesirable.
Ragen Vadascovinich is the "keeper of hate". His name comes from the words "rage again". Ragen describes himself as Yugoslavian, has a Slavic accent and can write and speak in Serbo-Croatian. He controls the spot in dangerous times and can designate group members as "undesirable". He admitted committing robbery in order to support "the family", but had no knowledge of the rapes.
Allen is a con man and a manipulator. He is the most common person to talk to the outside world. He plays the drums and paints portraits. Also the only right-handed self. He is the only personality that smokes cigarettes.
Tommy is the escape artist; he is often confused with Allen. He plays the tenor sax and is an electronics expert. He is also a painter, specializing in landscapes.
Danny is afraid of people, especially men. He only paints still lifes, saying that this was because Chalmer made him dig his own grave and buried him in it.
David, age eight, is the "keeper of pain". He comes to the spot to take the pain of the others.
Christene, age three, was the one who would stand in the corner in school when "Billy" would get in trouble. She has dyslexia, but Arthur taught her to read and write. Ragen has a special bond with her.
Christopher, Christene's brother, plays the harmonica.
Adalana, a lesbian, cooks and cleans house for the others, and writes poetry. Milligan's attorney claimed that Adalana had admitted to committing the rapes without the knowledge of Milligan or the other alters.
The Undesirables
These people were labeled "undesirable" after breaking the rules laid down by Ragen and Arthur. These alters were no longer allowed "on the spot" (that is, to hold consciousness) and only revealed themselves after Milligan was sent to the hospital.
Phil is a thug and took part in planning some small time crimes. Has a Brooklyn accent. Marked due to him being a criminal.
Kevin is a criminal planner; he helped devise a plan to rob a drug store. Labeled also because he is a criminal.
Walter is Australian. He calls himself a big-game hunter and has an excellent sense of direction. Was often used as a spotter. He was labeled because he shot and killed a crow.
April only has thoughts about destroying Billy's stepfather. Declared an Undesirable when she convinced Ragen to kill Chalmer. Luckily though Arthur was able to talk him out of it at the last second.
Samuel is the Jewish person. He is the only one who believes in God. Was marked because he sold some of the other people's personal paintings.
Mark is the workhorse. He is often referred to as the zombie because he does nothing unless he is told, and will stare at walls when bored.
Steve is the impostor, he uses imitations for comedy. Steve never accepted that he was an MP. He was made to be undesirable because his comedy caused the family problems.
Lee is the prankster and his practical jokes normally get the family into trouble. He does not care about consequences for his actions. He was made an undesirable because one of his jokes put them into solitary confinement.
Jason is the pressure valve. He was used at the beginning to release tension for the family, but he caused them to get into too much trouble and was marked as an undesirable.
Bobby always dreams of leading some adventure or fixing some global crisis, but he has no ambitions and was labeled due to that fact.
Shawn, who is four and deaf, makes buzzing sounds so he can feel the vibration in his head. He was labeled an undesirable because there was no benefit from being deaf later on in life. (Even though he is an undesirable he was never cast into the shadows beyond the spot; he was just never allowed to take the spot.)
Martin is a snob, from New York. He wants things just handed over to him without earning them.
Timothy worked in a florist shop until he encountered a gay man who flirted with him. He went into his own world after that.
The Teacher (Not an Undesirable)
The Teacher, was by far the greatest milestone to helping Billy achieve fusion. He is the sum of all 24 people put together, and has almost total recall of all the other people's actions and thoughts.
