The accused, suffering from severe untreated schizophrenia, stabbed and killed his mother in a park.
At trial, the defence argued he was not criminally responsible (NCR) under s. 16 of the Criminal Code, claiming he acted on an auditory command hallucination.
The court rejected the NCR defence, finding the psychiatric opinions relied too heavily on the accused's uncorroborated hearsay self-reports.
However, the court also found the Crown failed to prove the murder was planned and deliberate, as the accused's mental illness raised a reasonable doubt about his capacity to plan and deliberate.
The accused was found not guilty of first-degree murder but guilty of the included offence of second-degree murder.
