Mentally ill man not criminally responsible for murdering father
CBC News
Posted: Jul 6, 2012 11:56 AM PT
Last Updated: Jul 6, 2012 6:20 PM PT
The court heard that Jordan Ramsay was attempting to treat his mental illness with multivitamins rather than his prescribed medication. (CBC)
A schizophrenic man who killed his father while he was off his anti-psychotic medication is not criminally responsible for the attack, a B.C. Supreme Court justice has ruled.
Jordan Ramsay, 27, was charged with the second-degree murder of his father, Donald Ramsay, 53, and the attempted murder of his mother, Wendy Ramsay.
He admitted to the November 2011 killing, but pleaded not guilty. Both his lawyer and the Crown prosecutor said during the trial this week in Vancouver that Ramsay should not be held criminally responsible due to his mental disorder.
Justice Deborah Kloegman agreed, ruling Ramsay was clearly in a delusional state at the time of the attack.
Ramsay will now be evaluated by the B.C. Review Board, which has 45 days to decide if he should be remanded in custody to a psychiatric facility or released
Outside the court on Friday, Ramsay's lawyer Dan Sudeyko said he expected his client would will be held in custody.
During the trial Jordan Ramsay's psychiatrist, Dr. Leanne Meldrum, testified Ramsay is fragile, in deteriorating mental health and will need long-term care in Coquitlam's Forensic Psychiatric Institute, where he currently is a patient, before he would ever be considered safe in the community.
During the trial this week in Vancouver, the court heard evidence that at the time of the slaying, the Ramsay was off his prescribed medication and was trying to treat himself with a brand of multivitamins called True Hope Empower Plus, which is marketed on the internet to people with mental illness.
By the time police arrived at the family's North Vancouver townhouse, Ramsay's father was dead, and his mother was seriously injured after their son bludgeoned them in their bed with a wrench, according to an agreed statement of facts submitted to the court.
The aunt of the accused, Leeann Ramsay, believes the family's attempt to control his illness with an alternative therapy rather than his psychiatrist's prescription had a role in his state of mind at the time of the killing.
She is also calling for a Health Canada investigation into True Hope's claims and says she is considering a lawsuit against the vitamin manufacturer.His mother has been discharged from hospital but is still recovering from her extensive injuries.
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