Nebraska man not guilty by reason of insanity in Creighton University baseball director's death

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska man charged in the shooting death of the director of baseball operations at Creighton University has been ordered to remain at a psychiatric hospital after he was found not responsible by reason of insanity.

A judge on Monday ordered Ladell Thornton to undergo an evaluation to determine a treatment plan, WOWT reported.

Thornton waived his right to a jury trial on charges that included first-degree murder in the 2021 shooting death of Chris Gradoville, 37. The former baseball standout played for Creighton from 2004 to 2007 and then joined its baseball staff as its director of operations in the fall of 2020.

Gradoville had just flipped an Omaha house and sold it to a realty company that was renting it to Thornton, officials said. Gradoville was shot after he arrived at the house to take care of a repair he had promised the realty company he would make.

Annie Petersen with the Douglas County Public Defenders Office said signs that something might be wrong with Thornton went unnoticed because he lived alone.

“He slowly isolated himself from friends and family due to his paranoia, and there was nobody to tell him that the thoughts in his head and the voices that he was hearing were not real ... or that medicine could help his situation,” Petersen said.

Thornton, who had an extensive criminal record, entered a no-contest plea for being a felon in possession of a firearm months before the killing. If there is ever a court order releasing him from the psychiatric facility, he must first serve the sentence for that offense, which carries a prison term of up to 50 years.

Creighton is a private university in Omaha.