The Ontario Court of Justice ruled on the Crown's application for a court-ordered assessment to determine if the defendant, Maxim Iltchenko, was Not Criminally Responsible (NCR) for two counts of threatening his mother, pursuant to s. 16 of the Criminal Code.
The defendant had previously been found guilty of the offences.
The Crown argued that Iltchenko's history of Bipolar Affective Disorder Type I, a previous NCR finding, his recent absolute discharge from the Ontario Review Board, and the nature of the current threats (triggered by a stressful event and escalating in intensity) provided reasonable grounds to doubt his criminal responsibility.
The defence opposed, arguing insufficient evidence of mental disorder symptoms at the time of the offences.
The court granted the Crown's application, finding reasonable grounds to doubt Iltchenko's criminal responsibility, citing his long-standing mental disorder, the triggering event, and the "odd" or "bizarre" nature of the threats consistent with his documented psychotic episodes.
