Attack! Of the DIPT Maniac!

This has not been a good week for exotic compounds! First the Rolling
Stone article about a 2C-T-7 death, and then today I caught wind of this
case... Apparantly back in December, some guy in Pennsylvania took "DiPT" and
then freaked out. He slashed his twin brother's throat, tried to stab one
woman, and punched the woman's mother. The brother survived. This person was
described as being normally peaceful. He was apparantly sitting on his
computer while on the drug and attacked without warning. He's now facing trial
for attempted murder and aggravated assault, and seems to be using the drug as
his excuse.
I'm not sure about the drug involved. All the articles say DIPT, but then also
describe it as an LSD-type hallucinogen. While DIPT was commercially available
for a while, the description doesn't fit. I suspect the chemical was actually
5-MeO-DIPT, which has been quite popular on the psychedelic scene for a while
and which is often called "DIPT" by misinformed and/or lazy people. Another
possibility would be 4-acetoxy-DIPT which was also available for a short time.
I suppose it could actually have been DIPT, but I'm skeptical. One of the
newspaper articles has an almost amusing (in a pathetic way) comment about the
drug: "Allegheny County police investigators said earlier that Michael Mason
had ingested DiPT, an agriculture chemical that causes hallucinations similar
to those produced by LSD."
Here are 4 newspaper articles on the case:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/wtae/20020109/lo/1030735_1.html
http://www.post-gazette.com/neigh_north/20020109nburbs0109p9.asp
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/search/s_11470.html
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/search/s_11436.html
Mmmm... dumb people...

Man To Stand Trial For Slashing Twin's Throat
Please post the articles not just links so we have a copy for when the link expires..
This is the yahoo article.------
An Avalon man will stand trial for allegedly slashing his twin brother's throat during a drug hallucination, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Michael Mason, 21, is charged with attempted homicide and two counts of aggravated assault for a Dec. 30 incident involving his brother, Matthew.
Police said Michael Mason took Di-PT, a chemical that induces LSD-like hallucinations, then cut his brother's throat at his home. The suspect also tried to stab a woman before a group of people disarmed him, police said.
A visitor in the house called police, who arrested Michael Mason.
Matthew Mason was treated at Allegheny General Hospital and released.
Michael Mason is being held in Allegheny County Jail on $100,000 bail.

this is the article from pittsburglive.com
Motive sought for knife attack
By Ellen James
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, January 9, 2002
A man accused of slashing his twin brother's throat and attacking two other people is nonviolent, one victim testified Tuesday.
Emily Bua, who lives in the same house as Michael Mason and his twin brother, Matthew, testified during Michael Mason's preliminary hearing before Bellevue District Justice Donald Presutti that the brothers were her "two best friends."
Michael Mason, 21, of McKinley Avenue, Avalon, is accused of slashing the throat of his brother and cutting Bua's forehead and chin.
Presutti ordered Michael Mason to stand trial on charges of attempted criminal homicide, assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of aggravated assault.
Matthew Mason testified in court that he was sitting at his computer early in the morning of Dec. 30 when his twin brother stood in front of him, pushed his forehead back and cut his throat with 4-inch kitchen knife.
Matthew Mason's scar, a jagged red line about 4 inches across his neck, still is visible.
Matthew Mason said he jumped out of his chair and ran to the next room where Bua was sleeping on the couch.
Bua said she awoke to find Matthew Mason screaming and yelling her name. As she got up from the couch, she said, Michael Mason cut her on the chin and forehead with the knife. Bua testified she was unsure whether Michael Mason deliberately cut her with the knife. She required nearly 30 stiches in her head and chin for the cuts.
After being cut, Bua started yelling for her mother, Linda Gimperlein, who also lived at the house.
Gimperlein testified that when she came downstairs, she saw the two brothers wrestling on the floor. And as she tried to separate the two, Michael Mason punched her in the face, Gimperlein testified.
Gimperlein took Matthew Mason and Bua to Suburban General Hospital in Bellevue, where Bua was treated. Matthew Mason was transferred to Allegheny General Hospital, North Side, where he stayed overnight.
Neither Gimperlein, Bua nor Matthew Mason could account for the violent behavior of Michael Mason. All three testified that Michael Mason always had been a nonviolent person and that they each were extremely surprised that Michael Mason would ever attack them.
After Michael Mason was taken into custody, he told police that he could not remember what happened, according to court documents.
Bua said that when she confronted Michael Mason about the attacks, he told her that "he took too many drugs."
Allegheny County police investigators said in earlier reports that Michael Mason had ingested DiPT, an agriculture chemical that causes hallucinations similar to those produced by LSD, which might have caused him to attack his brother, Bua and Gimperlein.
Under questioning by defense attorney Leonard Berger, Matthew Mason said he could not think of any reason for his brother's behavior other than drug use. Matthew Mason also said that he was not aware of his brother taking drugs in the past.
Michael Mason, dressed in a red prison uniform and with shackles on his feet, sat next to Berger during the preliminary hearing and did not take the stand. On the opposite end of the room, his brother sat across from him. The brothers did not say anything to each but gave a nod of acknowledgment.
After the hearing, Matthew Mason left the courtroom, slumped into a chair in the waiting area and held his head in his hands.
The victims declined to comment for the story.
Michael Mason remains in Allegheny County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bond. No court date has been scheduled for this case.
Ellen James can be reached at [email protected] or (724) 779-7123.