A man has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the horrific murder of his neighbor, who was killed only because he left his front door open on a hot August night in the East Village area.

Andrew Holland, 38, apparently did not know Maxwell Thomas Logan, 25, who lived one floor above him at 699 14th Street before he was killed on Aug. 9, 2023.

Logan appeared Oct. 17 in San Diego Superior Court and was given a Nov. 6 date for a status conference. No trial date has yet been set, but he was ordered to stand trial for murder in a preliminary hearing several months ago.

If a jury finds Logan guilty, they will go into a sanity phase of the trial to determine his mental state. If they find he was insane at the time of the slaying, he will be committed to a mental hospital, possibly for life. If he is found to be sane, he will go to prison.

Holland was stabbed approximately 45 times. Police officer Andrew Ozeroff testified Holland’s roommate discovered his body covered in blood on the apartment’s balcony. He said paramedics pronounced Holland deceased at 10:57 p.m.

Police officers testified they found strange notes outside the apartment complex and in a hallway that said someone was dangerous and noted the apartment where he lived. It turned out they were written by Logan’s girlfriend, Lori Erickson, 23, who said she was frightened of him after he tried to choke her and that Logan had threatened to hurt her cat.

Logan was arrested after he returned to his apartment and officers noticed he had blood on him. Detective Christopher Murray said Logan admitted to hearing voices in his head often and that he was part of “a digital simulation” and was “trying to break it.”

Logan told Murray he was walking in the building and noticed that Holland had propped his door open because it was so hot. He walked inside as Holland was looking at his mail and stabbed him to death, said Murray.

Logan told the detective his “consciousness was driven by a digital being.” Logan said he suffered from “extreme psychosis,” but also realized that he had hurt Holland.

Deputy District Attorney Miriam Hurtado successfully urged San Diego Superior Court Judge Lisa Rodriguez to order Logan to stand trial for the “senseless, callous, unprovoked attack on Mr. Holland.” She also urged Logan to be held to answer for the false imprisonment of his girlfriend, which the judge also upheld.

Attorney Jack Temple, who represents Logan, said Logan was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was having a manic episode at the time. “He has since learned how to control these hallucinations,” said Temple.

Temple, noting that Logan’s mother, sister, and brother attended the hearing, suggested he could be released to a mental health program with supervision and an ankle monitor.

“He is an absolute danger to the community,” responded the prosecutor, adding “He stabbed a victim close to 50 times.”

Judge Rodriguez said there were not sufficient protections to the public for such a release and denied bail. Logan remains in the Vista Detention Facility.