The mother of a Truesdale man who stabbed and critically injured a friend said her son suffers from a mental illness and that she worried an incident like the one that occurred was going to happen. Laurel Windham is frustrated nothing could have been done sooner to move her son, Brian M. Jones, to a mental institution where he could have received around the clock treatment. She said her son was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder when he was 17. Jones, 28, is facing felony first-degree assault and armed criminal action charges for stabbing Brett Adams, Warrenton, on July 5 near the Virginia Village Apartments in Warrenton. An initial arraignment had been scheduled for July 20, but since has been rescheduled for Aug. 24. "It's the illness' fault," Windham said. "I've seen it, I've lived it." Jones is currently being treated at a psychiatric facility in Fulton. Jones had been living with his mother in the Belaire trailer park in Truesdale since December, his first extended stay from the treatment centers in several years. Windham said her son, who has been charged with other crimes in the past, had been showing erratic behavior forcing her to leave the residence at least three times for several days in the past two months. A week before the stabbing, Jones threw a tantrum where he began punching holes and throwing glass items into the wall. Jones also had been drawing weird sketches that showed he was not taking his medicine, Windham said. In addition, he tried killing himself, she added. Windham believes the stabbing incident could have been avoided had necessary steps been taken to move Jones into a mental institution. Windham signed over legal guardianship to the state Jan. 7, 2004. "In a controlled environment, Brian does wonderful," Windham said. "Once he got out, he did good for the first 3 1/2 months and then he relapsed." Public Administrator Jeffrey Hoelscher, who took office in January, said he had been working to place Jones into a treatment center. "I wanted him to be put in a facility for 24-hour help," Hoelscher stated. "I have been trying to get him help." When off his medicine, Windham said Jones would attempt to hurt her believing that she was the devil. She added her son had been hanging with Adams the day before and there were no problems. Schizoaffective disorder is a condition where a person experiences a combination of schizophrenia and mood disorder symptoms, such as hallucinations and depression. Windham said her son was first diagnosed at 17, also around the time when he nearly overdosed on acid. Since 2001, he has spent most of his adult life at various treatment centers. In 2003, while on a short leave from one such place, Jones was charged with stealing a motor vehicle and domestic assault case involving his mother. "Brian was a good kid," said Carrie Bote, Windham's sister and Jones' aunt. "He got messed up with (wrong crowd). You can't make sense out of something that doesn't make any sense. It could have been anyone." Adams was airlifted to St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur with stab wounds to the right abdomen, left shoulder and neck. He underwent emergency surgery for his injuries that evening. Adams was released from the hospital July 11, according to Bote. He is recovering at his apartment. Jones had known Adams since his cousin had a daughter with Adams' sister. "He closes his eyes and sees himself being stabbed," said Adams' mother, Janice Evans. "He's traumatized. He thinks someone will come in and get him." Evans said her son is still trying to figure out why Jones went after him. "She (Windham) kept telling us he was going to hurt somebody," Evans said.