In the selfie video below (recorded in September 2023), Luke Wenke lays in bed and rambles about perceived injustices until he realises there’s a wild bird in his bedroom, at which point he abruptly ends the recording.
Following Wenke’s arrest by the FBI for cyberstalking more than 18 months earlier, I had stopped at his house to take care of some things for him and noticed feathers directly below his attic entrance. The house also smelled like animal waste and there was very audible movement in the attic.
Later that day, I told Wenke he had a bird infestation at his house. He very confidently replied, “No, I don’t.” And I couldn’t convince him otherwise, so I’m assuming the problem festered while he was in prison and that he never took care of it following his release. On the same day that Wenke unintentionally captured footage of a wild bird in his bedroom, he made the following social media post:
At the very, very least, this video implies that Wenke’s house is unsuitable for human habitation. The house went from being cluttered to being straight-up grimy probably five or six years ago. It happened at around the same time Wenke seemed to stop caring about his hygiene. And while these types of changes are often cited as symptoms of mental illness, I think Wenke is well aware that his hygiene and cleanliness are lacking.
He knows better. I think he just doesn’t care. His own smell apparently doesn’t bother him, and I highly doubt he cares if his odour offends anyone. Plus, he seems to allot maximum time out of his day for stalking, harassing, and slandering people, and it pains him to put the phone down for more than a minute or two.
Soon (I don’t know exactly when yet), the parties involved in Luke Wenke’s criminal case will meet in court to determine the best course of action for Wenke and his ongoing “issues.” The court seems intent on institutionalising him at a mental hospital, while I’d rather see him on probation. He was found competent in November and has undergone more competency evaluations than I think is normal. Why the push to deem him incompetent? That won’t keep society safe in the long-term, especially if Wenke is deemed “unrestorable” and then magically gets better (it does happen, and nothing is normal about this case).
I’m vastly outnumbered in my opinion of what I think the outcome of Wenke’s case should be, but I don’t think people are considering the long-term dangers of placing him in a mental hospital. They just think “the sooner he’s put away, the better.”
Chances are, Wenke will see freedom again, possibly in the relatively near future. And the thought of him reentering society without the oversight of federal probation scares the living hell out of me. He’s already gotten away with so much, and a mental health ruling is like saying “it’s not your fault because something is wrong with your mind.” I’m not a psychiatric expert, but the last thing Luke Wenke needs is an excuse for his behaviour.