Murder on the mind

Karpf: I’m not going to stand for it anymore. And I’m tired of being humiliated after 50 years.

According to Dr. Richard Karpf, all the talk about a dinner party massacre was nothing more than a fantasy.

The culmination of 50 years of pent-up frustration--and a way to form a friendship with his patient, Dennis White.

Dr. Karpf: I simply wanted to look tough in front of Dennis White. I wanted to look tough and I wanted to show him how, I don't know, how much--I didn't want to tell him in those words "I want to be with you"

If that sounds crazy to you, you are not alone.

Dennis White: Well, if I want to have a friend, maybe, you know, ask him, you know, "want to go to dinner? Want to hangout?" You know, I don't think that asking him to go into a murder plot is, like, really healthy, do you?

Psychiatric evaluations of Karpf determined that the doctor may have had a psychotic episode in late 2002 and that he likely suffered from undiagnosed mental disorders for most of his life.

Dr. Karpf: My whole thinking at the time was totally illogical.

Though Karpf was initially charged with four felony counts, including conspiracy to commit murder, prosecutors eventually decided that it was not clear he intended to actually kill anyone.

However, he did buy an illegal gun from an undercover officer.

So, in a deal with prosecutors, Karpf agreed to plead guilty to a single weapons charge and surrender his medical license in return for a 5-year probation and ongoing psychiatric care.

To Dennis White, that seemed like a slap on the wrist considering the turmoil Dr. Karpf caused him.

Dennis White: I mean, he was the trained person, not me. I was going for the help.

So Dennis was determined to pursue justice on his own terms.

Dennis White: I feel like, violated, you know? Cause he knew to pick me. He knew my weaknesses. And he knew which buttons to push to get me to get as far as we got. Because I know he never expected to get arrested.

In May 2008, five years after Karpf’s arrest, the doctor and his former patient were face to face again. This time, in a Long Island courtroom.

Dennis White had sued for malpractice and was demanding money as compensation for the way, he said, Dr. Karpf had abused their doctor-patient relationship.

Ruth Bernstein: He is still unrepentant and he still doesn't get the damage and wreckage that he's left in his wake.

Ruth Bernstein is Dennis White's lawyer. She also represents two other former patients who are also suing Dr. Karpf for of malpractice.

Ruth Bernstein: They have a greater need of treatment because they're now traumatized on top of whatever problems they originally had, and they are less able to seek treatment and to benefit from it, because they have an impaired ability to form a relationship of trust.

Though Dr. Karpf did not agree to be interviewed, during the trial Dr. Karpf said that, as a doctor, the most he was responsible for was having an inappropriate conversation with a patient.

Karpf: I thought I could confide in him and tell him something racy and he wouldn't use against me in any way.

Bernstein: Did you feel he betrayed your friendship?

Karpf: Yes.

Karpf told jurors he was surprised that Dennis took his tale of murder and mayhem seriously.

Karpf's lawyers admitted that the doctor committed malpractice but they argued Dennis White's award for damages should be minimal because he seemed to be functioning fine.

To prove its point, the defense had a private investigator follow Dennis around, videotaping his every move.

Dennis: At first blush you would say, "gee, they haven't yet invented a camera that can shoot the insides of somebody's brain--so you would think why would anyone every surviell somebody in an emotional injury case?” But I think they were hoping to get him at a party. Which he doesn't go to parties. Or doing something where they could show that he really wasn't affected at all.

In the end, both sides agreed to a monetary settlement which Dennis says will enable him to get the kind of therapy he needs to recover from his experience with Dr. Karpf.

Hoda Kotb: Do you think justice has been done?

Dennis: The only reason why I’m going to say no is because he doesn't have remorse for what he did. And now I went from that trust to fearing him, you know?

To be sure, there is no evidence that Dr. Karpf intended to kill anyone. But Dennis White says one thing is clear: his former psychiatrist has a long memory and if that dinner table still exists in his imagination, there is now a place for him.

Dennis White: The reason why he was doing his first act was because he was humiliated, OK? I mean, I definitely went like a few tiers beyond that, ok what I did to him. I definitely betrayed him. In his mind anyway.

Two other malpractice cases against Dr. Richard Karpf are scheduled for trial in September. Dr. Karpf is defending against both of those lawsuits.

MORE FROM CRIME STORIES

Crime stories Section Front

Justice halted: The murdered prosecutor Hard lessons: Teacher-student love turns lethal Bullies caught on tape: Aggressors, or victims? Clark Rockefeller: Famous name, infamous life How the phony French 'Rockefeller' conned Americans The crossbow incident Mystery of the missing millionaire The devil's business Deadly intentions Murder on the mind Crime stories Section Front   Add Crime stories headlines to your news reader: