R. v. Shakespearethas, 2026 ONSC 580

Court File and Parties

Citation: R. v. Shakespearethas, 2026 ONSC 580 Court File No.: CR-23-10000776-0000 Date: 2026-02-02

Ontario Superior Court of Justice

Between:

His Majesty the King

• and -

Nirusan Shakespearethas

Counsel: David Parry and William Deck, for the Crown Matthew Friedberg and John Fennel, for Mr. Shakespearethas

Heard: November 5, 6, 10, 12, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 24, 2025

Before: M.D. Forestell J.

Reasons for Judgment

Overview and Issues

1At around 7:30 p.m. on July 16, 2022, Nirusan Shakespearethas shot and killed the victim, Stephen Little-McClacken, outside the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. He fired a total of 12 rounds at Mr. Little-McClacken. At least eight rounds struck the victim, including two shots to his head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

2Mr. Little-McClacken was 24 years old at the time of his death. He was a rap artist who performed under the name "YB Stainz." He had various music videos posted online. Mr. Shakespearethas had come to know Mr. Little-McClacken through social media.

3Mr. Shakespearethas is charged with the first-degree murder of Mr. Little-McClacken. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge. The trial proceeded before me, without a jury.

4Much of the evidence in this case was admitted by way of agreed statements of fact. The evidence overwhelmingly supports the conclusion that Mr. Shakespearethas intended to cause the death of the victim and that the killing was both planned and deliberate.

5The issue in this case is whether Mr. Shakespearethas is criminally responsible for the murder.

6For an accused person to be found not criminally responsible of a crime, the party advancing the issue must establish on a balance of probabilities that, at the time of the unlawful act, the person had a mental disorder and that the mental disorder rendered the accused person incapable either of appreciating the nature and quality of the conduct in question or of knowing that the conduct was wrong.¹

7The concept of 'wrongfulness' includes legal and moral wrongfulness.

8In this case, there is no real issue that the evidence supports the following findings on a balance of probabilities:

• that Mr. Shakespearethas had a mental disorder at the time that he killed Mr. Little-McClacken;
• that he was, at that time, capable of appreciating the nature and quality of his conduct; and,
• that he was, at that time, capable of knowing that his conduct was legally wrong.

9The narrow issue upon which the parties disagree is whether Mr. Shakespearethas has established on a balance of probabilities that his mental disorder rendered him incapable of knowing that his conduct was morally wrong.

10Mr. Shakespearethas' position is that because of his mental illness, he believed that Mr. Little-McClacken was the Devil and that it was morally right and necessary to kill him.

11I will review the evidence before turning to the legal principles and the application of those principles to the facts as I find them.

Review of the Evidence

Background of Mr. Shakespearethas

12Mr. Shakespearethas was 26 years old on July 16, 2022. He was 29 years old at the time of trial. Prior to his arrest, he lived in his parents' house in Vaughan, Ontario with his mother, father, and sister.

13Mr. Shakespearethas was born in Toronto and grew up in the Jane and Finch neighbourhood until he was in grade 6 when the family moved to Vaughan. Mr. Shakespearethas reported to Dr. Iosif, and to Dr. Chaimowitz, the two assessing psychiatrists, that his father beat him as a child. He also told Dr. Chaimowitz that his father beat his mother. In his testimony, Mr. Shakespearethas denied that there was any violence in his home. His father and sister also testified and denied that Mr. Shakespearethas' father was violent. His sister testified that at times, when Mr. Shakespearethas was an adult living at home and came in late, her father pushed Mr. Shakespearethas.

14Mr. Shakespearethas did fairly well in school, graduating from high school with an 80% average. He was admitted to McMaster University in an engineering programme in the Fall of 2014. He was expelled from McMaster after one semester, reportedly for stealing laptops to pay for drugs.

15In 2015, he attended Georgian College in Barrie to study optometry. He left that programme before the end of the first semester. While living in Barrie, he had a girlfriend. He has made various reports to mental health professionals about the length of the relationship. While at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Services ("Ontario Shores") in 2024, he said that he was with his girlfriend for five years. To Dr. Chaimowitz, he reported that the relationship lasted two to three years (from age 19 to 21 or 22). To Dr. Iosif, he reported that the relationship lasted a "couple of years". In his evidence-in-chief, Mr. Shakespearethas said the relationship lasted a 'couple of years' and under cross-examination, he agreed that it only lasted three to four months.

16Mr. Shakespearethas' father reported that Mr. Shakespearethas returned home a few months after moving to Barrie to attend school. A police occurrence from March of 2016, records that Mr. Shakespearethas was warned at that time to stay away from his former girlfriend.

17Mr. Shakespearethas reported to medical professionals that he began using alcohol at age 12. He reported drinking up to 375 mL of alcohol a day from a young age and continuing up to July of 2022. He also began using cannabis at age 12. He said that he was smoking every day before his arrest, although his reports of the amounts that he was using were inconsistent.

18He also reported using cocaine, beginning at age 16 and continuing to the time of his arrest. He said that he used crack cocaine, beginning when he was living in Barrie but stopped the use of crack cocaine after breaking up with his girlfriend. He also reported to assessors that he used psylocibin, LSD, Ecstasy, and various prescription drugs. In his testimony-in-chief he denied using any substances other than cannabis and alcohol after he returned from Georgian College. He said he drank a couple of beers a week and smoked a couple of joints a week. Under cross-examination, he said that he was unsure about the amount that he was drinking leading up to July 16, 2022. He said he could not remember how much cannabis he was using. He said, at one point, that he was using cocaine and crystal meth leading up to the offence date.

19Mr. Shakespearethas worked as a lifeguard when he was 16 and as a camp counsellor at age 18. At age 19, he worked at a Home Depot. After his expulsion from post-secondary school, he held various jobs including as a cook, dishwasher, laborer, and telemarketer. The jobs generally did not last long. Immediately prior to his arrest, Mr. Shakespearethas worked several months for Prefera Finance as a 'junior/mid-level collection specialist'.

20Michael Savoie, Mr. Shakespearethas' supervisor at Prefera, testified at the trial. He described the roles and responsibilities of a collection specialist. Mr. Shakespearethas was responsible for handling approximately 100 to 120 accounts on a weekly basis. He had to contact customers who were in arrears on loan payments. He would arrange for the customers to enter into payment arrangements. During his workday, Mr. Shakespearethas was expected to send out and respond to emails and telephone calls. He worked 37.5 hours per week. He typically worked Monday through Saturday. He worked from home most days but was expected to work from the office one day a week. Mr. Savoie reported that Mr. Shakespearethas did fairly well at his work.

Mr. Shakespearethas' History of Psychiatric Illness before July 16, 2022

21Mr. Shakespearethas' family reported a decline in Mr. Shakespearethas' mental health beginning around 2015. This was when he went to university and then was expelled. Up to that point, although he had been using substances, he was able to function academically, and he was able to work. His mental health issues were initially attributed to his substance use. In March of 2015 Mr. Shakespearethas attended a court-ordered addiction programme.

22In February of 2018, Mr. Shakespearethas' family brought him to the emergency department of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health ("CAMH"). The records from CAMH indicate a diagnosis of cannabis induced psychosis, rule out primary psychosis. He was discharged with a prescription for Abilify. He attended follow-up appointments at CAMH until he could be connected with follow-up services closer to Vaughan where he lived.

23On July 12th of 2018, Mr. Shakespearethas went onto the subway tracks in Toronto. He has given various explanations for his actions, including that he felt compelled to go and look for his sunglasses which he had lost some time before. He reported feeling confident and powerful. Recently he suggested that he was attempting to self-harm. After this incident his dosage of Abilify was increased.

24On July 17, 2018, Mr. Shakespearethas was assessed for admission into the H.O.P.E. programme which is a programme run by the Canadian Mental Health Association (the "CMHA") for persons believed to be experiencing their first episode of psychosis. At this initial assessment, he reported that he experienced racing thoughts but no auditory or visual hallucinations and no paranoia.

25On August 7, 2018, a consultation note written by Dr. Frantseva, staff psychiatrist at the CMHA in Aurora, noted that Mr. Shakespearethas' presentation was consistent with a diagnosis of "substance induced psychosis, rule out substance induced bipolar disorder, rule out schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type". Mr. Shakespearethas was also diagnosed with cannabis use disorder and alcohol use disorder. At the time of consultation, Mr. Shakespearethas denied any delusions or hallucinations. His thought form was observed to be organized, apart from some poverty of content. Mr. Shakespearethas reported that in February when he went to CAMH, he felt that he could sense people's energy and read their thoughts. He also reported that in February, for a brief time he experienced some paranoid delusions, believing that people were watching him and out to get him. By the time of the consultation in August of 2018, he reported that he no longer experienced those symptoms. He also reported that he was consuming about five grams of cannabis a day.

26Mr. Shakespearethas was at one point evicted from the programme but was readmitted in June of 2020. He reported ongoing psychotic symptoms including thought extraction, paranoia and auditory hallucinations. He also reported that he was using cannabis and drinking every day.

27In March of 2021, Mr. Shakespearethas was found by the police unconscious at the side of the road. He said that he had been drinking tequila and taking psylocibin with friends.

28He continued in the HOPE programme until he was discharged at the end of January 2022. His prescription at some point was changed to Olanzapine and his medication at discharge was 25 mg of Olanzapine. He was frequently noncompliant with his medication during his three years in the HOPE programme.

29Mr. Shakespearethas does not appear to have followed up with treatment after he was discharged from the HOPE programme.

30Mr. Shakespearethas' father and younger sister testified and described the behaviour of Mr. Shakespearethas in the years before the offence. They both said that he became isolative and stopped speaking to the family around the time that he went to university. They noticed that when he came home, he would listen to very loud music and mutter to himself. He did not sleep much and played a lot of video games. This conduct continued after his expulsion from university.

31The family became concerned about Mr. Shakespearethas when he was away at Georgian College. He was vague in his answers about school. At some point, they lost contact with him. They sent his cousins to bring him home. When he came home he had no belongings and told the family that all of his belongings had been lost in a fire.

32Over the years after returning home from Georgian College, the family reported that his behaviour declined further. He listened to music at full volume all day and into the night. He isolated himself in his room and at times would not come out for days. He became paranoid and would say that people were looking at him or coming for him. Because of this, his family took him to CAMH in 2018. He was given a prescription for medication, but he did not take the medication consistently. He stopped taking it in 2021 or 2022. He often stopped communicating verbally with the family and communicated through gestures or by showing pictures on his phone.

33Mr. Shakespearethas' father and sister also testified that there were times that Mr. Shakespearethas went out and came home without his wallet or other belongings. He also at times appeared to be in 'rough shape' or injured. His sister knew that Mr. Shakespearethas used alcohol and drugs. At times he came home high or drunk.

Time Period leading up to the Killing of Stephen Little-McClacken and Prior Contact between Mr. Shakespearethas and the Victim

34Mr. Shakespearethas' first contact with Mr. Little-McClacken likely occurred sometime in 2020. Mr. Shakespearethas testified in his examination-in-chief, that he had first communicated with the victim on Snapchat in 2020. He said that Mr. Little-McClacken contacted him first and that he responded. He said that he had never listened to Mr. Little-McClacken's music or watched his videos before that. When he spoke to Dr. Chaimowitz, he said that he knew the victim through the victim's Instagram feed. In his interviews with Dr. Iosif, he said that he had looked at the victim's music videos on Instagram and added the victim as a friend. He told Dr. Iosif that Mr. Little-McClacken contacted him on Snapchat. He said that they discussed Mr. Little-McClacken's music.

35Mr. Shakespearethas told Drs. Chaimowitz and Iosif that he had never met Mr. Little-McClacken in person before the day of the shooting. He testified that he had never met Mr. Little-McClacken in person before the day of the shooting. However, while at Ontario Shores, in 2024, he told Dr. Dupre that Mr. Little-McClacken had invited him to a house party at a hotel in 2020 and that he had attended the party. He said that he came to believe that Mr. Little-McClacken was stealing phones and was a bad person. He said that he got paranoid and believed that Mr. Little-McClacken was going to harm his family. He said that the victim asked him for his phone and money. He also said that, after the party, the victim said he knew where Mr. Shakespearethas lived and was going to 'come and get' him. He claimed that Mr. Little-McClacken was trying to extort him.

36On another occasion, Mr. Shakespearethas told a social worker at Ontario Shores that he had never met Mr. Little-McClacken before the shooting.

37On yet another day, Mr. Shakespearethas told Dr. Gibas, a psychologist at Ontario Shores, that he had seen Mr. Little-McClacken 'once or twice' and that the victim occasionally sold him drugs. When asked about the party at the hotel, he said that he had bought cannabis, cocaine and crystal meth from the victim at the party and was 'hanging out' with him at the party. However, he left because Mr. Little-McClacken was stealing unattended items. Later, in the same interview, he said that subsequent to the party, he had tried to initiate 'business' with Mr. Little-McClacken.

38In his testimony at trial, Mr. Shakespearethas said that he did not ever contact or try to meet up with the victim to engage in drug dealing or robbery.

39In the messages extracted from Mr. Little-McClacken's phone, there were the following messages from Mr. Shakespearethas to Mr. Little-McClacken:

November 10, 2021:

I have a lick we can run

It's a spot in rhill

Has a grow op

June 13, 2022:

I got a bank flex we could run

I'll show how to do the flex

You down fam I'll give you a cut

40Mr. Shakespearethas testified at trial that he tried to meet up with Mr. Little-McClacken in person several times before July 16, 2022. His efforts were unsuccessful because Mr. Little-McClacken failed to show up. Mr. Shakespearethas testified that he sent Mr. Little-McClacken photos of money to convince Mr. Little-McClacken to meet him. He testified that he was trying to meet him because he believed that Mr. Little-McClacken was the Devil. He believed that Mr. Little-McClacken was following him around the city.

41Mr. Shakespearethas testified that he had previously messaged and then met with Mr. Little-McClacken's friend"Sina", at Finch and had told Sina that Mr. Little-McClacken was the Devil.

42It is an agreed fact that Mr. Little-McClacken's close friend, Eshath Karifard, was known as "Sina'. It is agreed that Sina testified at the preliminary inquiry that Mr. Shakespearethas contacted him on Instagram at some point in 2019 or 2020. They made plans to meet and smoke marijuana. They met outside the Finch subway station. At the meeting, Mr. Shakespearethas told Sina that he wanted to kidnap Mr. Little-McClacken — to have a female lure him somewhere so that Mr. Shakespearethas could kill him or shoot him. He also said that Mr. Little-McClacken had to give Mr. Shakespearethas a chain. The various reasons that Mr. Shakespearethas offered for wanting to do these things were: that Mr. Little-McClacken had to give Mr. Shakespearethas money; or, Mr. Shakespearethas had to give Mr. Little-McClacken money, or a chain; or, that Mr. Shakespearethas wanted to find a job for Mr. Little-McClacken. The meeting was not long because Sina wanted nothing to do with Mr. Shakespearethas. Sina subsequently told Mr. Little-McClacken about the meeting and about what Mr. Shakespearethas had said. Mr. Little-McClacken was not concerned.

43Mr. Shakespearethas told the doctors at Ontario Shores that he had saved $6,000 working and used it to buy a gun in January of 2022. He told them that the gun came with three bullets and that this did not seem adequate, so in June of 2022, he bought 30 more rounds. He hid the gun in an abandoned house and practiced shooting it twice with a friend. In his evidence-in-chief, he said that he purchased the gun for $6,000.00 within the year before the shooting. He said that he purchased it from a friend from high school. He testified that he never practiced shooting it. He told Dr. Iosif in April of 2025 that he had practiced shooting the gun.

44Mr. Shakespearethas' search history from his cellphone shows that in June of 2022 he searched ammunition types for a Taurus 9 mm. He Googled "can I mix ammo in a magazine" on July 12, 2022. He also conducted other searches with respect to using two different kinds of ammunition and using hollow point ammunition. He agreed that this was because he was planning to kill Mr. Little-McClacken using hollow point ammunition. Two different kinds of ammunition were used by Mr. Shakespearethas in the shooting.

45He searched on the internet"how to get away with murder" and "murder bail."

46Mr. Shakespearethas' sister testified that Mr. Shakespearethas told his family that he was 'scammed' and lost $6,000.00. She believed that this happened over a year before the shooting. His sister testified that her brother never mentioned Mr. Little-McClacken. He never spoke to her of the Devil.

47Mr. Shakespearethas testified that the voices were telling him that he needed to shoot the devil to save the world from chaos and World War III. They began to tell him this in 2020. He told Dr. Chaimowitz that he had been on a mission to kill the victim, who he thought was the Devil, for two years before the shooting. He told Dr. Iosif various timeframes for his decision to kill the victim. At one point, he said it was the week before the shooting; on another, that it was the night before the shooting; and on another occasion, that it was 'a couple of months' before the shooting.

48Mr. Shakespearethas agreed in his testimony that he did not like the victim and that he had a grudge against him for a couple of years leading up to the shooting.

49In the text messages extracted from Mr. Shakespearethas' phone, there are the following messages between Mr. Shakespearethas and an unknown person concerning his feelings towards Mr. Little-McClacken:

June 17, 2022

From Mr. Shakespearethas: Ok you call him and tell him your problem with YB [Mr. Little-McClacken]

From Unknown person: yeah I tell him already

From Mr. Shakespearethas: What he say

From Unknown person: he says dat if we see him just punch him in the face

From Mr. Shakespearethas: Ok bro we need to do damage

Like right now

Ye bro we need to do damage.

Like serious one

Like end him

From unknown person: Facts to ybstainz

June 21, 2022

From Mr. Shakespearethas: what exactly he say

From unknown person: Yeo ybstainz tell us we deadman walk-in

From Mr. Shakespearethas: Bro we gotta do something about it

You talk to him

Beat his nigger

An who's we

Lol

Bro we beat his ass right. Ow and then

Let's do damage bro

From unknown person: Real shitz let's do damage on ybstainz

50Mr. Shakespearethas agreed in cross-examination that in June of 2022, when these messages were sent, he was angry at Mr. Little-McClacken and wanted to hurt him.

Evidence of Mr. Shakespearethas' Conduct at and after the Time of the Killing

51Mr. Shakespearethas gave various descriptions of his thoughts and motivations on the day that he killed Mr. Little-McClacken. I will review the descriptions given by Mr. Shakespearethas after reviewing the independent evidence of Mr. Shakespearethas' actions.

52There are messages between Mr. Shakespearethas and Mr. Little-McClacken from the middle of June 2022 to July 16, 2022, that appear to be attempts to meet up.

53On June 25, 2022, there are messages arranging a meeting outside Scotiabank Arena. On that day, Mr. Shakespearethas sent a message to Mr. Little-McClacken saying"I'm here Way" and then"I'm at Scotia area". Two days later he texted the victim saying"Family I was literally at scotia bank arena"; "you were nowhere to be seen".

54Further messages were exchanged to arrange a meeting on July 9th. On July 8th, Mr. Little-McClacken messaged Mr. Shakespearethas"I'm good making sure ur ready for tomorrow morning." Mr. Shakespearethas responded"Yeah I'll call you tomorrow." They then discussed various times and Mr. Shakespearethas suggested 6:00 p.m., while Mr. Little-McClacken asked to meet earlier.

55On July 9th, they exchanged messages about meeting. At 9:19 a.m., Mr. Little-McClacken asked"Can u be DT at 1" and Mr. Shakespearethas responded"Yeah". At 10:12 a.m., Mr. Shakespearethas sent a message asking"Can you come next week?" "I'm at my cousins house right now." Mr. Little-McClacken offered to come to Scarborough to meet Mr. Shakespearethas and Mr. Shakespearethas wrote that he was out and suggests"100% next Saturday". Later, Mr. Little-McClacken wrote"Why you always flop". At 10:40, Mr. Little-McClacken sent a message saying"Bro I can come to Scarborough and u meet me drop it off n curb" "cut". Mr. Shakespearethas responded"yeah but I'm always on the go" Let's have a set date and time." "You free next Saturday?"

56Mr. Shakespearethas worked from home on Saturday, July 16, 2022, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., according to his work schedule from Prefera Finance. He had worked from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday to Friday leading up to July 16, 2022.

57On Saturday, July 16, 2022, at 00:46 a.m., Mr. Shakespearethas messaged Mr. Little-McClacken"Union". And then at 8:27 a.m."link today". "DT" "Union". At 4:11 p.m. he messaged Mr. Little-McClacken saying"Still good for 6?" In addition, there were telephone calls at 4:42 p.m. and 5:35 p.m.

58At 5:56 p.m., Mr. Shakespearethas is shown on video at the Maple GO Station. At 6:04 p.m., Mr. Little-McClacken messaged"yeah". At 6:14 p.m., Mr. Shakespearethas boarded a GO train at the Maple GO station going southbound to Union Station.

59At 6:45 p.m., Mr. Shakespearethas arrived at Union Station. At 6:50 p.m., he is seen on video walking towards Aria Restaurant. At 6:51, 6:52 and 7:02 p.m., Mr. Shakespearethas messaged"I'm here". At 7:02 p.m., Mr. Little-McClacken responded"I'm walking up from the lake wait there I'm coming." Over the next 24 minutes the two men exchanged messages and phone calls. There is a receipt from the Aria restaurant showing that Mr. Shakespearethas paid with his credit card for two draught beers at 7:28 p.m.

60Mr. Little-McClacken and his friend, Dwayne Griffiths, arrived in the courtyard area outside the Scotiabank Arena at approximately 7:22 p.m. They walked to the area outside the Scotiabank Arena and the entrance to Union Station.

61It is an agreed fact that Mr. Griffiths accompanied Mr. Little-McClacken to Scotiabank Arena on July 16, 2022, and that he understood the purpose of the meeting was for Mr. Little-McClacken to collect money owed to him. Mr. Little-McClacken asked Mr. Griffiths to stand back from him prior to the meeting. Mr. Griffiths fled the scene after the shooting.

62The video evidence shows Mr. Shakespearethas walking from the Aria Restaurant patio area just after 7:28 p.m. He walked to the middle of the courtyard and then waited near the restaurant for about one minute. He then walked east towards Scotiabank Arena.

63At approximately 7:30 p.m., Mr. Shakespearethas is seen approaching Mr. Little-McClacken in the courtyard. It is an agreed fact that Mr. Shakespearethas drew a handgun and fired a total of 12 rounds at Mr. Little-McClacken. At least eight rounds struck Mr. Little-McClacken, including two shots to the head. No words were spoken by Mr. Little-McClacken or Mr. Shakespearethas before the shooting.

64After the shooting, Mr. Shakespearethas is seen on video moving through Scotiabank Arena to a hallway that leads to Union Station. He is seen running down the hallway then walking through Union Station to the GO train level. At 7:32 p.m., he is seen boarding a waiting train that is heading eastbound.

65From 8:16 to 8:30 p.m., Mr. Shakespearethas' search history shows that he searched for news stories about the shooting of YB Stainz. At 8:36 p.m., he disembarked in Oshawa and walked to the bus bay. At 8:49 p.m., he boarded a bus. About one minute later, he got off the bus and is seen walking to a garbage bin. He can be seen reaching towards the bin. He then got back on the bus. The police later recovered the gun used to kill Mr. Little-McClacken from the garbage bin. Mr. Shakespearethas took the bus to a plaza. He entered a store and purchased various items, including a phone charger.

66Mr. Shakespearethas called a co-worker after the shooting to ask if he could stay with her, but she refused.

67At 9:01p.m., Mr. Shakespearethas made a call to the Comfort Inn followed by two calls to the Quality Suites in Whitby, a call to the Travel Lodge in Oshawa, Townplace Suites in Oshawa, The Residents Inn in Whitby and a Motel 6 in Whitby.

68At 9:15 p.m., Mr. Shakespearethas entered a Mr. Sub and plugged in his phone to charge before ordering food. He then took his food, phone and charger from Mr. Sub and entered an Uber at about 9:23 p.m. He travelled from the plaza to an LCBO store and then to a hotel in Oshawa.

69Mr. Shakespearethas remained at the hotel in Oshawa until around 3:30 a.m. on July 17th, when he checked out of the hotel and moved to a hotel in Peterborough. He continued to check for news stories about the shooting. He booked a train ticket from Oshawa to Quebec City at around 5:30 a.m. on July 17, 2022. He later cancelled that booking. He also searched for flights to Sri Lanka.

70At 9:00 a.m. on July 17, 2022, Mr. Shakespearethas called his father and then sent his father the address for the hotel in Peterborough through the application WhatsApp. At 9:03 a.m., he sent the coordinates. At 9:04 a.m., his father replied saying"ok I am coming now."

71Mr. Shakespearethas returned to his parents' house on the morning of July 17th with his father. He did not speak to his father about where he had been or what he had done. He worked on July 19, 2022. He sent an email to his supervisor, Mr. Savoie, indicating an interest in working overtime the following week and Mr. Savoie responded, approving the request.

72On July 20, 2022, Mr. Shakespearethas was arrested for the murder of Mr. Little-McClacken.

Mr. Shakespearethas' Accounts of the Shooting of Mr. Little-McClacken

1. Ontario Shores

73Mr. Shakespearethas was admitted to Ontario Shores on March 22, 2024, for the purposes of an assessment. On April 23, 2024, Mr. Shakespearethas described the circumstances of the shooting in a meeting with Dr. Juliette Dupre and Dr. Mark Pearce.

74Mr. Shakespearethas told them"I thought he was the Devil"; and "I thought I was on a mission to kill the Devil". He also told them that Mr. Little-McClacken had sent threats through Snapchat and had demanded money. He said that in one message, Mr. Little-McClacken sent a photo of a gun. The threatening messages were on Snapchat and disappeared. He said that he told Mr. Little-McClacken's friend, Sina, about the threats.

75Mr. Shakespearethas told Drs. Dupre and Pearce that he felt he had to 'get rid of this guy'. He told them he had saved money and bought a gun in early 2022. He played video games like Grand Theft Auto ("GTA") where he would imagine that he was on a mission to kill Mr. Little-McClacken. He did this on July 15, 2022. That night, he had a dream that he was killing Mr. Little-McClacken. The next day, July 16th, he said he "heard voices saying this was the day [he] was going to kill him".

76Mr. Shakespearethas worked on July 16th until 3:00 p.m. He reported that he was able to focus well at work that day and that he got along well with his family that day. Mr. Shakespearethas said that he believed Mr. Little-McClacken was following him. He said that Mr. Little-McClacken called and arranged to meet downtown at 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. Mr. Shakespearethas said that he was feeling paranoid and hearing voices. He retrieved his gun from the abandoned house where he had hidden it. He saw shadows from the corner of his eyes. He heard voices saying that Mr. Little-McClacken was going to kill him. Mr. Shakespearethas said he thought that Mr. Little-McClacken was the Devil.

77Mr. Shakespearethas reported that he went downtown with the loaded gun. He continued to hear voices on the train. He arrived at Union Station, went to the nearest bar, and ordered two pints of beer. When Mr. Little-McClacken called him to say that he had arrived, Mr. Shakespearethas went out and saw 'lines in the sky' which then went through the victim's body and then he shot the victim.

78Mr. Shakespearethas told the doctors: "I emptied the clip on him, thinking that yes! I finally got him, I did a good thing, he's no longer going to hurt me and my family…I thought that I killed the Devil."

79Mr. Shakespearethas described getting on the GO train and going to Oshawa. He had planned on going home but got on the wrong train. He threw the gun in a garbage bin. Mr. Shakespearethas described going to the store, Mr. Sub, the LCBO store and a hotel. The voices said "you killed the devil" but he was uncertain if he killed him or not. He drank and watched the news. The next day, he called his father to pick him up. He thought his mission was complete. He continued to hear voices, but they had changed. He did not think he would be caught.

80Mr. Shakespearethas reported that he had smoked a joint the night before the murder and consumed two beers immediately before the shooting.

81To the social worker on May 18, 2024, Mr. Shakespearethas gave a similar account of his actions before the shooting but added that he had consumed about a gram of marijuana and a couple of shots of tequila at the abandoned house where he had hidden the gun. He said that he saw shadows in the house that he believed could be the shadows of the Devil. The voices told him that the Devil would be outside Scotiabank Arena. When he got downtown and was in the restaurant, he got a phone call that was 'only in his head' telling him that the Devil was outside. When he saw Mr. Little-McClacken outside, he saw a person who had an Afro hair style with horns and lines were running through the person's body. The voices insisted that these were signs that the person was the Devil and Mr. Shakespearethas shot him. He told the social worker that the voices told him to stay away from home.

2. Dr. Chaimowitz

82Mr. Shakespearethas was assessed by Dr. Gary Chaimowitz in November and December of 2024. He told Dr. Chaimowitz that he woke up on the day of the shooting hearing voices. He had been hearing voices for two years. He had been on a mission to "kill the Devil and save the world'. He told Dr. Chaimowitz that the Devil was a bad person who was trying to overthrow the government and had caused COVID-19. He believed that Mr. Little-McClacken was the Devil. He believed that the Devil was following him. He received messages about this through his phone. He got a phone call that day from the Devil. They made plans to meet. He said that he showed the Devil a photo of money to lure him to the meeting.

83Mr. Shakespearethas described going to the abandoned house and retrieving his gun. He went to Union Station and went to a bar where he ordered two drinks. He said, the Devil called him, and he approached the Devil outside. He knew it was the Devil because he was dressed in black and had an Afro hair style. He then shot him. Mr. Shakespearethas described his actions — travelling to Oshawa and Peterborough and disposing of the gun.

84Mr. Shakespearethas reported to Dr. Chaimowitz that he thought he did the right thing in killing the Devil. He also reported that he no longer thinks that the Devil is dead. He believes that he failed in his mission.

3. Dr. Iosif

85In April of 2025, Mr. Shakespearethas was assessed by Dr. Alina Iosif. When he was interviewed by Dr. Iosif on April 7, 2025, he reported that Mr. Little-McClacken told him that he had a gun and knew where Mr. Shakespearethas was, and that he was following him everywhere. Mr. Shakespearethas said that he came to believe that Mr. Little-McClacken was the Devil. He described that Mr. Little-McClacken had horns coming out of his head. He said that Mr. Little-McClacken demanded money. Mr. Shakespearethas reported that he began carrying a gun which he bought in 2020 and hid in an abandoned house. He decided to kill Mr. Little-McClacken about a week before the shooting. He said that he had gone to meet Mr. Little-McClacken the week before, but the victim didn't show up.

86Mr. Shakespearethas told Dr. Iosif that he had shown Mr. Little-McClacken money to lure him to the meeting. He said"they say in God we trust…the Illuminati is part of the Devil… I said I would give him a thousand dollars… [he is] Lucifer, money brings evil… if money is the root of evil and tied to the devil, I said that I would give him money."

87Mr. Shakespearethas reported that he had to kill the Devil. He planned to shoot him. He told Dr. Iosif that he saw "his spirit leave his body and I knew I had killed him…[he saw] a white spirit …like white smoke going up to the sky to a different realm."

88Mr. Shakespearethas explained that he had to save the world and keep the Devil from destroying it and starting World War III.

89Mr. Shakespearethas told Dr. Iosif that the night before the killing, he had a dream that Mr. Little-McClacken had killed him. He then woke up and began playing the game, GTA when he saw Mr. Little-McClacken's image pop up on the screen and at that point, his mission in the game became the mission to kill the victim. He then received a call from Mr. Little-McClacken to meet at Union Station. Mr. Shakespearethas went to his closet to get a sweater and saw the Grim Reaper who told him to follow an angel. He also saw an angel who led him to the abandoned house to retrieve his gun. At the abandoned house, there was a demon who told him he was doing the right thing by saving the world. Mr. Shakespearethas then followed the angel to the GO station and boarded the train to Union Station. Upon his arrival, he went to a bar and drank two pints of beer. Mr. Shakespearethas got a call from Mr. Little-McClacken saying that he had arrived. Mr. Shakespearethas went out and saw the victim dressed in black and with red horns. He immediately shot him. He ran to the nearest GO train and boarded it. He got off in Oshawa.

90Mr. Shakespearethas said that a voice told him to drop the gun in the garbage can.

91Mr. Shakespearethas described his actions after arriving in Oshawa, including going to the store, Mr. Sub, the LCBO and the hotel. He described watching the news and having his father pick him up the next day.

92Mr. Shakespearethas denied using any drugs the day of the killing.

93When Dr. Iosif asked him if his actions were lawful, he said"I didn't think about the law. I thought it was the right thing to kill the Devil and save the world." He said that he remained away from his home because he was paranoid of being followed by the police. He said that he left the first hotel because he saw a police car in the parking lot. He did not tell his parents what he had done. He said"if I did, he'd probably think I'm a crazy dude… I thought I did the right thing, but the voices said to keep it to myself." When asked if he would have shot the victim if his father was with him or if the police were present, he said he would have done so because it he was the Devil.

94One week later, in a second interview, Mr. Shakespearethas said that on the Friday night before the killing he had a dream, a vision that July 16th was supposed to be his "doomsday". He then told Dr. Iosif that he had been planning to kill Mr. Little-McClacken for a couple of months.

95He told Dr. Iosif at this meeting that he had purchased the gun in December of 2021.

96He elaborated on seeing Mr. Little-McClacken's face on a character in the video game, GTA.

97Mr. Shakespearethas told Dr. Iosif that Mr. Little-McClacken had threatened him and demanded money. He said that Mr. Little-McClacken had called him on the morning of July 16th. He thought that Mr. Little-McClacken was out to kill him, and that he had to kill Mr. Little-McClacken first. He said that the voices were telling him he was doing a good thing by killing the Devil. He went to the abandoned house to retrieve his gun. He saw an angel who was floating and had a halo. The angel told him to follow her to the GO Train. He described arriving at the Scotiabank Arena and shooting Mr. Little-McClacken. He described his actions afterwards. He said he did not tell his parents because he didn't want them to judge him differently…how they'd react if they knew I killed a person…I didn't think it was a good thing."

98In the second interview, when Dr. Iosif asked Mr. Shakespearethas if he thought others would blame him for his actions, he said"Yes, they would look down on me because I just murdered someone, they would not want to be in my presence. I didn't do a good thing." He told Dr. Iosif that although he believed that that he had done the right thing, other people in society would think what he did was wrong.

99In a third interview on May 15, 2025, Mr. Shakespearethas told Dr. Iosif that he did not believe that he had killed the victim.

4. Testimony of Mr. Shakespearethas

100In his evidence-in-chief, Mr. Shakespearethas said that he met Mr. Little-McClacken online through his Snapchat in 2020. He said that he communicated with the victim every couple of months. He also communicated with Mr. Little-McClacken's friends, Sina and MK Freddy.

101Mr. Shakespearethas testified that he tried to meet up with Mr. Little-McClacken several times during the weeks before the shooting. He said the meetings did not happen because the victim failed to show up. He said that he sent Mr. Little-McClacken a photo of a stack of money. The photo of the money was found on Mr. Shakespearethas' phone. He said that he sent the photo because money is the root of all evil and he thought that Mr. Little-McClacken was the Devil.

102Mr. Shakespearethas testified that he had been hearing voices since he returned from Georgian College in Barrie. The voices initially told him to stay in his room. After he met Mr. Little-McClacken online, he came to believe that Mr. Little-McClacken was following him and that the lyrics in Mr. Little-McClacken's music videos referred to him. Mr. Shakespearethas testified that he met with Sina and told him that Mr. Little-McClacken was the Devil.

103Mr. Shakespearethas was asked by his counsel: "Now you've mentioned that you thought YB Stainz [Mr. Little-McClacken] was the Devil because the voices told you that?" Mr. Shakespearethas agreed with that suggestion – although he had not said this in his evidence to this point. Mr. Shakespearethas was then asked"What if anything was the evidence for this besides the voices telling you things?" Mr. Shakespearethas replied"It was just the voices." His lawyer then showed him images taken from his phone that he identified as images of demons, devils and one of two ghosts. He said that some of these images 'popped up' on his phone when he was scrolling through social media, and some were sent to him.

104Mr. Shakespearethas testified that he sees demons and devils on his phone and sometimes he hallucinates and sees them. He would stare at his wall and see demons and devils. These demons or devils were not people he had met.

105In his testimony and in the assessments, Mr. Shakespearethas said he believed that he had a chip implanted either through a COVID vaccine or during his visit to CAMH in 2018. He did not relate this to his motivation for shooting Mr. Little-McClacken.

106He testified that images of Mr. McClacken appeared in the game, GTA and appeared to be the Devil or a demon. He testified that there are missions in the game GTA and that one of his missions was to kill the Devil.

107Mr. Shakespearethas testified that he accepted a real-life mission to kill the Devil on July 16, 2022. The voices told him that he had to save the world and to do that he had to kill the Devil. He got a phone call from the Devil that day, saying that he would be at Union Station. Mr. Shakespearethas said he went to Union Station and shot the Devil. He used a gun that he had obtained from a friend the year before.

108Mr. Shakespearethas explained that he had retrieved his gun from the abandoned house where he had hidden it, taken the GO train and that he had gone to a bar and drank two pints of beer while waiting to meet the Devil. He got a call from the Devil saying that he had arrived. Mr. Shakespearethas said that when he went out to meet the Devil, he saw that he had two horns.

109Mr. Shakespearethas said that after he shot the Devil, he panicked. He got on the train that was leaving and ended up in Oshawa.

110When asked about his reasons for shooting the Devil, he said that the Devil was creating chaos. He was getting visions that the Devil was going to start World War III. The voices started telling him this in 2020.

111Mr. Shakespearethas testified that he did not think that he had succeeded in his mission because he still hears the voices. He is not sure if the Devil is alive or not.

112Mr. Shakespearethas did not tell anyone about his mission because he did not want people to think that he was crazy.

113Mr. Shakespearethas testified that he did not think it was wrong to kill the Devil. He was then asked in examination-in-chief: "Do you think it's wrong to shoot another person?". He replied"No." When asked why he thought that, he said"Because police do that too."

114Mr. Shakespearethas was then asked the following questions and gave the following answers:

Q. Is killing the devil legally wrong?

A. No

Q. Why not?

A. Because I was saving the world.

Q. Is killing the Devil morally wrong?

A. No.

Q. Why not?

A. Because I was on a mission to save the world.

Q. If killing the Devil is not morally or legally wrong, and it was your mission, why did you panic?

A. Because I was going through so much adrenaline. I didn't know what to do next.

Q. Why not yell out to everyone in the plaza there, 'I killed the Devil, praise me, the world is saved'?

A. Because that's not what my voices told me to do.

Q. What did the voices tell you?

A. Voices said to keep it calm and concisive.

Q. Now these voices, do you know who they are?

A. A higher power…from above.

Q. What ,if anything, is the significance of the voice of a higher power from above?

A. It's just the voice I have to listen to.

Q. And if you don't listen to that voice, what if anything will happen?

A. I become lonely, depressed.

115Later in his examination-in-chief, Mr. Shakespearethas was asked if he believed that he had killed Mr. Little-McClacken and he said no, because he thought he was the Devil.

116In cross-examination, Mr. Shakespearethas said that he could not say when he first began hearing voices. He could not recall when the voices first gave him the mission of killing the Devil. He said that he first attempted to meet up with and kill the Devil weeks before July 16th.

117Mr. Shakespearethas agreed that in June of 2022, he was upset at Mr. Little-McClacken and wanted to hurt him. He agreed that he bought the gun because he was planning on killing Mr. Little-McClacken.

118Mr. Shakespearethas testified that he recalled getting up on July 16, 2022, and playing video games. He did not recall working that day.

119Mr. Shakespearethas was cross-examined about the wrongfulness of his conduct as follows:

Q. You wanted to see if the police were onto you because you knew that you had committed a crime. Right?

A. Yes.

Q. Not only that, you knew that what you had done was morally wrong by shooting YB Stainz. Right?

A. Yes

Q. You knew that anybody around you, ordinary members of the public, would know that what you had done was wrong, right?

A. Yes.

120Mr. Shakespearethas was asked about not telling his family what he had done in the following exchange:

Q. In fact, you didn't say anything at all because you didn't want them to know that you had shot and killed YB. Isn't that right?

A. Right

Q. And, again, because you knew it was morally wrong. Right?

A. Right.

Q. You knew they would judge you for it. that they would know it was wrong. Right?

A. Right.

Q. You were aware that ordinary members of the public would know it was wrong to shoot someone like YB. Right?

A. Right.

Evidence of Mr. Shakespearethas' Mental State after his Arrest and Incarceration

121Mr. Shakespearethas remained largely mute after his arrest and through his transportation to the station and the booking process. He nodded or shook his head in response to some questions in the booking process. Homicide detectives attempted to interview Mr. Shakespearethas at the police station. He continued to remain silent but gave some one-word answers and responded to some questions by nodding his head.

122On admission to the Toronto South Detention Centre ("TSDC"), Mr. Shakespearethas said that he had experienced psychosis in the past and that he was hearing voices that day (July 21, 2022). He said the voices were sometimes command in nature, telling him to run away for self-harm.

123Mr. Shakespearethas was prescribed anti-psychotic medication upon admission to the TSDC. He began with a dose of 15 mg of Olanzapine. On July 23, 2022, he reported that he was hearing voices every day, but they were not causing him distress. On August 10 and 17, 2022, he denied any perceptual disturbances. By the end of August, the dose of Olanzapine was increased to 20 mg. In mid-September of 2022, he reported auditory hallucinations of voices but that he could not make out any words. He also reported that he received messages from the television. He explained that when he sees a violent show he sometimes thinks violent thoughts. He also reported thought insertion. These reports continued in October of 2022.

124In July of 2023, he reported hearing God's voice and said he was an angel. By August of 2023 his dose of Olanzapine had been increased to 30 mg. In November of 2023, he reported hearing the voice of the Devil.

125In December of 2023, Mr. Shakespearethas' medication was switched to 10 mg of Olanzapine and 40 mg of Ziprasidone. When admitted for assessment at Ontario Shores in March of 2024, his medication is noted as being 5 mg of Olanzapine and 100 mg of Ziprasidone. He reported auditory hallucinations commanding him to harm himself. On April 9, 2024, at Ontario Shores, he was observed to be responding to internal stimuli and slapping himself. He reported auditory hallucinations and asked for a medication adjustment. His Olanzapine was increased.

126Mr. Shakespearethas was returned to TSDC in May of 2024 where he continued to report auditory hallucinations.

127On October 3, 2024, Mr. Shakespearethas was noted to be communicating only by nodding and gestures and endorsed hearing voices despite the treatment he was receiving. On October 15, 2024, Mr. Shakespearethas said that he was hearing voices and had special powers because of a Persian angel. On December 9, 2024, he said that he was hearing the voice of his dead grandmother but was not experiencing command hallucinations. On November 22, 2024, he told Dr. Chaimowitz that he was experiencing command hallucinations. His Olanzapine was again increased around this time.

128Mr. Shakespearethas was assessed by Dr. Alina Iosif in April and May of 2025. As part of that assessment, psychological testing was conducted by Dr. Mini Mamak.

129Dr. Mamak, senior psychologist at St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, administered tests in May of 2025 which included tests designed to evaluate the possibility of malingering and symptom exaggeration. Mr. Shakespearethas' scores were indicative of significant symptom exaggeration. Dr. Mamak noted that Mr. Shakespearethas endorsed a range of symptoms including typical complaints, rare or infrequent symptoms and highly unusual or bizarre symptoms not typically reported by individuals with genuine psychiatric disorders.

Opinions of the Psychiatrists on Criminal Responsibility

130Dr. Gary Chaimowitz and Dr. Alina Iosif gave expert opinion evidence on the nature of Mr. Shakespearethas' mental disorder and its impact on his ability to appreciate the nature and quality of his actions and to know that the acts were wrong. Both are highly qualified and experienced forensic psychiatrists. They both interviewed and assessed Mr. Shakespearethas and reviewed extensive file material.

131Dr. Chaimowitz interviewed Mr. Shakespearethas on two occasions in November and December of 2024 at the TSDC. In the first interview, Mr. Shakespearethas reported auditory hallucinations. He said the voices were telling him to kill specific people. He also reported that he believed that he could read people's minds and could tell what their mood was. He believed others could read his mind. He believed others could put thoughts in his head or take them out. He also believed that he could predict the future and that he would be president of Canada. He said that occasionally the television would tell him to go and buy a gun. As outlined above, he told Dr. Chaimowitz that he shot the victim because he was the Devil, and he had to save the world. In the second interview, Mr. Shakespearethas reported that the voices were telling him that the Devil was still alive.

132Dr. Chaimowitz accepted, based on the testing by Dr. Mamak and his own impressions of Mr. Shakespearethas, that Mr. Shakespearethas was probably making some symptoms up and exaggerating others. Dr. Chaimowitz said that it was not unusual for individuals seeking an NCR finding to exaggerate.

133Dr. Chaimowitz acknowledged that Mr. Shakespearethas gave differing accounts of the events and his perceptions around the time of the shooting. He stated that individuals experiencing psychosis may have memory issues and 'fill in the gaps' about details of past events. However, Dr. Chaimowitz's opinion was that there was a consistency to the core elements of the account: the devil, voices, the planning and his motivation.

134Dr. Chaimowitz considered the circumstances of the offence and the psychiatric history of Mr. Shakespearethas as well as Mr. Shakespearethas' account of the offence and of his symptoms. Dr. Chaimowitz concluded that Mr. Shakespearethas has a major mental illness, namely schizophrenia, and that he had this mental illness at the time of the offence. He concluded that, at the time of the offence, Mr. Shakespearethas was likely suffering from a psychosis that included command auditory hallucinations and delusions. In his opinion, Mr. Shakespearethas was likely able to appreciate the nature and quality of the act of shooting the victim and that the act was legally wrong, but he was not likely capable of knowing that what he was doing was wrong from a moral perspective.

135Dr. Chaimowitz considered Mr. Shakespearethas' conduct after the shooting to be somewhat disorganized. He pointed out that Mr. Shakespearethas took the wrong train after the shooting and sought out different forms of accommodation. He also conceded that there was little evidence of Mr. Shakespearethas experiencing hallucinations or other positive symptoms after the shooting. He described that individuals can be 'shaken out' of psychosis by the trauma of the violent event.

136Dr. Iosif interviewed Mr. Shakespearethas three times in April and May of 2025. Dr. Iosif arranged for the psychological testing by Dr. Mamak.

137Dr. Iosif noted that Mr. Shakespearethas expressed a moral code that seemed to diverge from ordinary standards. He told her that people should be able to execute "bad" individuals with impunity – just like police. he said that he was like a police officer "keeping you safe, getting rid of negative people". He knew that others would not share his views.

138Dr. Iosif's opinion was that Mr. Shakespearethas was not as psychiatrically impaired at the time of the offence as he tried to suggest. She pointed to his ability to function in his job the day of the shooting, his organized messages with the victim, and his messages with his co-worker after the offence when he was looking for a place a stay. He was able to effectively flee from the scene, make hotel bookings and research further escape routes.

139Dr. Iosif testified that the visual hallucinations described by Mr. Shakespearethas were not in keeping with genuine psychiatric symptoms. Visual hallucinations are uncommon, and it is particularly unusual to see vivid characters as described by Mr. Shakespearethas like the grim reaper and angel. The results of the psychological testing that suggested malingering supported Dr. Iosif's clinical impression that Mr. Shakespearethas was fabricating or exaggerating psychiatric symptoms.

140Dr. Iosif disagreed with Dr. Chaimowitz that psychotic symptoms can rapidly disappear. She described the trajectory of psychosis, saying that people may become abruptly psychotic but that there is generally a buildup of symptoms and then a slow decrease over time.

141Dr. Iosif concluded that the presence of psychotic thinking likely impacted Mr. Shakespearethas' planning, judgment and impulse control at the time of the offence but that Mr. Shakespearethas was likely able to understand the moral wrongfulness of his actions.

Legal Principles

142As I outlined at the outset of these reasons, to be exempt from criminal responsibility, Mr. Shakespearethas must prove on a balance of probabilities that at the time of the act or omission, he had a mental disorder, and that the mental disorder rendered him either incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of his acts, or that it rendered him incapable of knowing that the acts were wrong.

143The evidence in this case proves on a balance of probabilities that Mr. Shakespearethas had a mental disorder at the time that he committed the offence. Dr. Chaimowitz's opinion was that schizophrenia was the likely diagnosis. Dr. Iosif's opinion was that psychosis not otherwise specified was the likely diagnosis. There is support in the record and the history of Mr. Shakespearethas for either diagnosis. With either diagnosis, Mr. Shakespearethas had a major mental illness characterized by psychotic symptoms. Either diagnosis satisfies the first requirement for an NCR finding- that the accused person have a mental disorder.

144The mental disorder did not render Mr. Shakespearethas incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of acts at the time of the killing. He was aware that he was discharging a firearm at Mr. Little-McClacken and that his actions would likely kill him. Mr. Shakespearethas has repeatedly said that he intended to kill Mr. Little-McClacken that day by shooting him.

145The remaining issue is whether Mr. Shakespearethas' mental disorder made him incapable of knowing that his actions were wrong.

146As I said at the outset of these reasons, wrongfulness means legal wrongfulness and moral wrongfulness.²

147The evidence in this case supports a finding that Mr. Shakespearethas was capable of appreciating the legal wrongfulness of his conduct. He performed an internet search "How to get away with murder". He took steps after shooting Mr. Little-McClacken to avoid the police and was aware that he might be arrested for his actions.

148The issue that I must decide is whether Mr. Shakespearethas should be found not criminally responsible because he was incapable, as a result of his mental disorder, of appreciating the moral wrongfulness of his actions.

149In R. v. Oommen,³ the Supreme Court of Canada considered the meaning of moral wrongfulness and said"The accused must possess the intellectual ability to know right from wrong in an abstract sense. But he or she must also possess the ability to apply that knowledge in a rational way to the alleged criminal act."

150The court in Oommen went on to explain, at para 26:

The crux of the inquiry is whether the accused lacks the capacity to rationally decide whether the act is right or wrong and hence to make a rational choice about whether to do it or not. The inability to make a rational choice may result from a variety of mental disfunctions; … these include at a minimum the states to which the psychiatrists testified in this case — delusions which make the accused perceive an act which is wrong as right or justifiable, and a disordered condition of the mind which deprives the accused of the ability to rationally evaluate what he is doing.

151Delusions or other psychotic symptoms do not necessarily deprive a person of the capacity to know the moral wrongfulness of their acts. In R. v. Dobson,⁴ Doherty J.A. wrote as follows:

In my view, Oommen, as interpreted in the judgments of this court, holds that an accused who has the capacity to know that society regards his actions as morally wrong and proceeds to commit those acts cannot be said to lack the capacity to know right from wrong. As a result, he is not NCR, even if he believed that he had no choice but to act, or that his acts were justified. However, an accused who, through the distorted lens of his mental illness, sees his conduct as justified, not only according to his own view, but also according to the norms of society, lacks the capacity to know that his act is wrong. That accused has an NCR defence. Similarly, an accused who, on account of mental disorder, lacks the capacity to assess the wrongness of his conduct against societal norms lacks the capacity to know his act is wrong and is entitled to an NCR defence.

152Dr. Iosif and Dr. Chaimowitz reached different conclusions on whether Mr. Shakespearethas' mental illness deprived him of the capacity to know the moral wrongfulness of his act. As the trier of fact, I may accept some, all, or none of any witness's evidence. In weighing the expert psychiatric opinion evidence, I must examine the factual foundations for the opinions. I am "entitled to accord less weight to the opinion where it is not based on facts proved at trial and/or where it is based upon factual assumptions with which [I] disagree".⁵

Findings of Fact and Application of the Principles to the Facts

153Considering the totality of the evidence, I have reached different factual conclusions than those relied upon by Dr. Chaimowitz for his opinion. Dr. Chaimowitz relied on the account of Mr. Shakespearethas of his thinking and beliefs at the time of the killing as a foundation for his conclusion that Mr. Shakespearethas was incapable of knowing the moral wrongfulness of his actions. I do not find that Mr. Shakespearethas believed that Mr. Little-McClacken was the Devil and killed him to save the world. I reject Mr. Shakespearethas' account of his thoughts and motivation at the time that he shot and killed Mr. Little-McClacken.

154In rejecting Mr. Shakespearethas' account of his thinking at the time of the killing, I have considered the many inconsistencies in the accounts given by Mr. Shakespearethas to various medical professionals and in his testimony at trial. These include the following:

• Whether Mr. Shakespearethas met the victim in person before the shooting: He told medical professionals at Ontario Shores that he met Mr. Little-McClacken at a party and that Mr. Little-McClacken was stealing from people at the party. He also said that Mr. Little-McClacken occasionally sold him drugs. However, also during his assessment at Ontario Shores, he said that he had never met Mr. Little-McClacken before the shooting. He told Dr. Chaimowitz, and Dr. Iosif that he had never met Mr. Little-McClacken before. In examination-in-chief he said that he had never met Mr. Little-McClacken. In cross-examination he said that he was unsure whether or not he had met Mr. Little-McClacken in person before the shooting.
• Prior threats by Mr. Little-McClacken: In his assessment at Ontario Shores and his interviews with Dr. Iosif, he referred to threats by Mr. Little-McClacken including threats against his family. To Dr. Chaimowitz, Mr. Shakespearethas did not mention threats.
• Reason for buying a gun: Mr. Shakespearethas told assessors at Ontario Shores that he purchased the gun because he wanted to exact revenge against Mr. Little-McClacken. He told Dr. Chaimowitz that he bought the gun for protection against the Devil. He told Dr. Iosif that he bought it as result of Mr. Little-McClacken's threats and the fear that Mr. Little-McClacken would hurt his family. He was inconsistent with respect to where and when he bought the gun.
• Hallucinations before the shooting: At Ontario Shores, Mr. Shakespearethas reported seeing shadows at the abandoned house which he thought could have been the Devil. He reported no visual hallucinations to Dr. Chaimowitz. To Dr. Iosif, he reported in one interview that he saw the grim reaper and an angel in his closet before going to get the gun on the day of the shooting. In his second interview, he said he met an angel at the abandoned house. In his testimony, Mr. Shakespearethas did not report any visual hallucinations except that he saw Mr. Little-McClacken in his video game and that he felt it was his mission to kill him.
• Hallucinations at the time of the shooting: Mr. Shakespearethas reported seeing horns coming out of Mr. Little-McClacken's head at the time of the shooting to assessors at Ontario Shores, to Dr. Iosif and in his testimony-in-chief. He did not mention horns to Dr. Chaimowitz.
• Timing of his decision to kill Mr. Little-McClacken: Mr. Shakespearethas told Dr. Chaimowitz that he had been on a mission to kill 'the Devil' for two years before the killing. He told Dr. Iosif, (i) that he decided the week before; (ii) that he decided the night before; and (iii) that he had been planning to kill the victim for a 'couple of months'. In his testimony, Mr. Shakespearethas said that he made the decision on the day of the killing.

155I find that Mr. Shakespearethas' account of his thinking at the time of the shooting evolved over time. I find that Mr. Shakespearethas exaggerated some symptoms and fabricated others. The nature and frequency of his reported symptoms increased with each assessment.

156I accept the opinion of Dr. Iosif that some of the symptoms reported by Mr. Shakespearethas to have been present on the day of the shooting were unlikely to have been experienced by him.

157The actions of Mr. Shakespearethas before, during, and after the shooting are not consistent with Mr. Shakespearethas' account that he was experiencing command hallucinations, hearing voices, and seeing demons.

158Mr. Shakespearethas had a longstanding animus towards Mr. Little-McClacken. The reason for his animus is not clear. I do not accept that it derives from a belief that Mr. Little-McClacken was the Devil. In his text message exchange with the unidentified person where he speaks of 'ending' Mr. Little-McClacken, his animus is clear. He does not mention that Mr. Little-McClacken is the Devil or that the world is in danger.

159Before the killing Mr. Shakespearethas researched 'how to get away with murder' not 'how to kill the devil'. He researched whether he could mix two types of bullets in his gun, not whether the bullets could kill the devil. He prepared in an organized way to kill Mr. Little-McClacken.

160Mr. Shakespearethas was functioning well the day of the shooting and the days before and after the shooting. He worked at a job that required organized thought and communication. He arranged the meeting with Mr. Little-McClacken and prepared for the killing by retrieving the gun he had purchased in advance for that purpose. His actions in attending at the meeting place and shooting Mr. Little-McClacken were deliberate and organized.

161His flight from the shooting and disposal of the gun showed organized and purposeful thought proximate in time to the shooting. I do not accept that there was a level of disorganization attributable to psychosis after the event. The fact that Mr. Shakespearethas took the wrong train is equally consistent with a miscalculation in his escape plan and, as described by him, the surge of adrenaline he experienced.

162Mr. Shakespearethas' conduct after the shooting, his flight from the police and concealment of evidence of the offence supports the inference that he knew that his conduct would be viewed as wrong by the moral standards of society.

163I accept the opinion of Dr. Iosif, that Mr. Shakespearethas, while mentally ill, was functioning reasonably well at the time of the offence. His actions in evading police, disposing of evidence and researching routes of escape are indicative of relatively high functioning. Mr. Shakespearethas' explanation to Dr. Iosif, that he did not tell his parents what he had done because he did not want them to look at him differently, and his comment that others would view what he had done as not being a good thing, show that he knew that his actions were wrong according to the moral standards of ordinary people.

Verdict

164Therefore, while I am satisfied that Mr. Shakespearethas has a mental disorder, I am not satisfied on a balance of probabilities that Mr. Shakespearethas, on account of his mental disorder, lacked the capacity to assess the wrongness of his conduct against societal norms and therefore lacked the capacity to know his act of killing Mr. Little-McClacken was wrong. I reject the submission that Mr. Shakespearethas should be found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder. I find that Mr. Shakespearethas is criminally responsible for his actions and is guilty of first-degree murder.

Forestell J.

Footnotes

1. 1Criminal Code, R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46, s.16
2. 2R. v. Chaulk, 1990 34 (SCC), [1990] 3 S.C.R. 1303, at pp. 1354-1355
3. 31994 101 (SCC), [1994] 2 S.C.R. 507
4. 42018 ONCA 589, at para 24, leave to appeal refused [2019] S.C.C.A. No. 70
5. 5R. v. Molodowic, 2000 CSC 16, 2000 SCC 16, at para. 7