Man responsible for 2009 murder in Santa Maria to be released after completing mental health programs and last updated 2020-12-17 00:16:56-05 A Santa Maria man who was found to be legally insane when he killed a stranger with a hatchet 11 years ago is being released into the community after a judge ruled that he is no longer a danger to others. On August 1, 2009, 69-year-old Frederick Holgate was out for an early morning walk when Nicholas Bendle, who was 20 at the time, attacked him. A court found that Bendle had suffered a psychotic break due to the rapid onset of previously undiagnosed paranoid schizophrenia.