The man accused of assaulting and kidnapping Elie Wiesel -- attempted kidnapping, false imprisonment, battery, stalking, elder abuse and hate crimes, to be exact -- changed his not guilty plea to one of insanity today. Earlier this year, if you recall, Eric Hunt, 23, stalked and dragged the Nobel Prize winner and Holocaust survivor from an elevator at the Argent Hotel (recently re-branded Westin San Francisco Market Street, even though it's totally located on Third Street) and then assaulted him.

Diagnosed as bi-polar, and having already offered his mea culpa to Wiesel, today's third plea change makes sense. Sort of. According to Bay City News (via SF Examiner), Hunt "dropped his original insanity plea and simply pleaded not guilty this summer as his defense lawyer tried unsuccessfully to get the case moved to a court for mentally ill offenders." Held in a psychiatric hospital since February, his trial starts in March '08.

Also, skinny slip of a thing, isn't he? (His top simply hangs off him!) Not the Russel Crowe in Romper Stomper type we had imagined.


Image credit: AP Photo / Mike Derer