2nd psychiatrist says Despres not criminally responsible

Gregory Despres should not be held criminally responsible if found guilty ofstabbing his elderly neighbours in Minto, N.B., in 2005, his psychiatrist told a Fredericton court on Tuesday.

Despres is accused of killing Fred Fulton, 74, and Verna Decarie, 70, whose bodies were found in their home on April 26, 2005. Both had been stabbed repeatedly and Fulton was decapitated.

Despres has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder.

Dr. Louis Theriault, testifying for the defence, told the Court of Queen's Bench that Despres was delusional and believed he was carrying out a military mission at the time of the slayings.

Theriault told the court that, if convicted, Despres should not be held criminally responsible.

His comments echoed those made a day earlier by another psychiatrist, who also told the court that he thought Despres couldn't be held criminally responsible.

Despres, 25, has never admitted to playing a role in the deaths. He has previously stated he was "walking down Main Street" at the time of the killings.

Theriault is the head of psychiatry at Shepody Healing Centre where Despres is being treated. He told the court when he initially evaluated Despres, who is a paranoid schizophrenic, he thought the man might be able to be held criminally responsible if found guilty.

The conclusion was based partially on what appears to be attempts by Despres to avoid detection and leave the country in the days following the stabbings, Theriault said.

Psychiatrist sure Despres delusional

The court had heard previous testimony that while Despres was hitchhiking to the United States border, he asked a driver not to drop him off at a mall in St. Stephen, N.B., because he wanted to avoid people.

The court also heard that Despres had been spotted in an alley in St. Stephen changing his clothes before going to the border and telling officials he was a trained sniper. Despres was arrested in Massachusetts on April 27, 2005.

Theriault told the court on Tuesday that he changed his mind after having the opportunity to review statements aboutDespres' behaviour while at the border, interactions with his arresting officers and other medical documents.

"He said he was an officer. He was hired and had done several homicides and was to meet a general on the other side of the border to get further orders," Theriault told the court.

"Like someone in Iraq thinking he had a job to do, he was basically controlled by something outside himself. He couldn't appreciate the reality because his reality was part of his delusions."

It would likely make sense for a military assassin in Despres' delusion to try to avoid detection, Theriault said.

The psychiatrist added it was now clear to him that Despres was delusional in the days that followed the slayings he allegedly committed.

Despres, however, has never said he suffered from hallucinations on the day in question, Theriault said, nor has he indicated that he saw Fulton and Decarie as military combatants.

For a person to be found not criminally responsible, they must have a mental disorder and that illness must be found to have had an impact on behaviour during the situation being examined.

Theriault said Despres has responded well to treatment and he has seen dramatic changes in him since he came to the centre.

The changes in his personality, attitude and interpersonal relationships further illustrate how ill Despres was prior to beginning treatment in February 2007, Theriault said.

Theriault's testimony concurred with information presented by Halifax psychiatrist Dr. Scott Theriault, who testified for the defence on Monday.

Scott Theriault also told the court that he did not believe Despres could be held criminally responsible if convicted.

He said Despres thought he was a military assassin on an assignment at the time of the deaths and would not have been able to appreciate the wrongfulness of the actions he is accused of.

Closing arguments heard

The family of the victims sat in the courtroom and wept as the Crown and defence made their closing arguments on Tuesday afternoon.

The Crown maintained that Despres knowingly entered the home of his neighbours with a weapon and wearing protective clothing. He then committed a crime, fled the scene and crossed the border into the United States.

It was also stated that it couldn't be proven whether Despres was suffering from delusions at the time of the death of his neighbours because he refused to tell psychiatrists who have examined him what he was thinking at the time.

Justice William Grant will rule on March 5 if Despres is guilty and if he can be held criminally responsible.

This is the second trial for Despres. It is being heard without a jury. The first trial was halted in 2007 after Despres exhibited bizarre behaviour in the courtroom. After a psychiatric assessment, he was declared unfit to stand trial and ordered to undergo treatment for paranoid schizophrenia.

A provincial review board later ruled that Despres had responded well to psychiatric treatment, understood the court proceedings and the charges against him, and was fit to stand trial again.

The current trial adjourned for two months in November to allow the Crown and defence to prepare expert witnesses to testify on whether Despres could be held criminally responsible for the killings should he be found guilty.

It restarted on Monday.

Victims' family frustrated by delays

Relatives of Fulton and Decarie who have been in the courtroom told CBC News they are frustrated by the lengthy court proceedings.

The family won't be satisfied with anything less than a guilty verdict, said Tony Martin, Decarie's son.

"What he is being accused of doing is horrific and it's destroyed a lot of lives," Martin said. "My brothers are totally messed up from the whole thing. They can't cope with it."