Jeffrey Glenn Hutchinson didn't know what he was doing when he killed his girlfriend and her three children last September, according to a defense consultant in the case.

Hutchinson suffers from Neuro Dysimmunity, immune suppression and autoimmunity, Dr. William Baumzweiger, a California-based psychiatrist, said.

Hutchinson, a Gulf War veteran, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the Sept. 11, 1998, shotgun slayings of Renee Flaherty, 32, and her children, Geoffrey, 8, Amanda, 6, and Logan, 4. They were gunned down at the family's John King Road home, just south of Crestview.

Hutchinson remains in custody at the Okaloosa County Jail. He is scheduled to stand trial Sept. 7. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

His psychiatrist said his service in the military and possible exposure to chemical and biological weapons contributed to Hutchinson's diminished mental state at the time of the killings.

"Neuro Dysimmunity may cause a person to be unaware of acts that he or she may be doing" and can result in "uncontrollable unconscious fits of rage," according to an affidavit signed by Baumzweiger.

Prosecutors have not had a psychiatrist of their choosing evaluate Hutchinson.

"We haven't had anybody look at him yet," said Assistant State Attorney Bobby Elmore. "If they're going to allege he was insane because of that syndrome, then we're entitled to have someone look at him. But they haven't filed a formal notice yet.

"I think they're going to rely on it as a guilt-phase defense. That's my guess. But they've got to go ahead and make that decision and formally notice us before we do an examination."

Hutchinson's condition was caused by chemical and/or biological agents he came in contact with during the Gulf War, said Baumzweiger, an expert in the field of Neuro Dysimmunity and Gulf War illness.

"I would say it's an explanation for why he did it," he said by telephone Friday. "I'm not saying he didn't do it. If he did it, it would appear that he had no conscious control over his behavior."

But Baumzweiger conceded that Hutchinson should be held accountable for his actions.

"I have tremendous compassion for the victims and I do not believe that anybody should be let off the hook for this," he said. "Jeff should not be let off the hook, but the government shouldn't either."

Baumzweiger said he believes about 1,800 Gulf War veterans and at least 2 million others suffer from Neuro Dysimmunity. And he thinks biological and chemical warfare and research in those areas are partially to blame.

Most Gulf War veterans he has worked with experience much greater aggressive tendencies toward their spouses now than they did before the war, he said. Hutchinson, a former Army Ranger, was simply an extreme example.

"Jeff saw some things on his girlfriend and her children which made him think they were sick, too," he said. "It was a rash. He had it, too. Unconsciously, he may have been trying to put them out of their misery.

"He apparently really loved this lady and was very fond of her three kids. At first, he didn't believe it, that she was dead, or the kids. If he hadn't been in the Army, there's no way this would have happened."

So why didn't he end his own misery?

"He is killing himself," Baumzweiger said. "When you kill people, what happens? They execute you eventually. It will be over for him soon. He will not have to live with the guilt of having wrecked their lives. He already has a wife back in Washington, who he believes is sick, and his child is ill. He already has that on his conscience."