The defendant was charged with first-degree murder for the blunt force killing of his wife.
He admitted to causing her death but raised the defence of not criminally responsible (NCR) under s. 16(1) of the Criminal Code, arguing that his major depressive disorder with psychotic features rendered him incapable of knowing his actions were morally wrong.
The court rejected the NCR defence, finding that despite his false belief that his wife intended to put him in a home, he retained the capacity to make a rational choice and knew his actions were wrong.
The court inferred the requisite intent for murder from the circumstantial evidence and found the defendant guilty of second-degree murder.
