The Philippe-Pinel Institute says it needs more time to assess the mental state of the man accused of killing two young children by driving his bus into a Laval daycare center in February.
The Montreal Institute of Forensic Psychiatry had been instructed by the court a month ago to assess the mental state of Pierre Ny St-Amand on February 8, at the time of the crimes with which he is charged. The hospital was due to submit its report to the court on Tuesday, to determine whether it could be held criminally responsible for its actions that day.
But in a letter to the court, the Philippe-Pinel Institute indicated on Tuesday morning that given the nature of the offense and the “complexity of the clinical picture”, it still needed 30 days to carry out this evaluation.
Dr. Kim Bédard-Charette, forensic psychiatrist, also underlined the “exemplary collaboration” of Mr. St-Amand.
After a brief hearing at the Laval courthouse on Tuesday morning, prosecutor Karine Dalphond told reporters she was unsure if the inability to complete the assessment was related solely to the details of the case, or if Other factors, such as delays caused by a shortage of specialist staff, may have played a role.
The accused was already deemed fit to stand trial on February 24, after an initial psychiatric assessment. But the defense had asked the court for an assessment of his mental state at the time of the alleged events.
“I have reasonable grounds to believe that, either at the level of the facts, at the level of the conversations that I had with Mr. St-Amand or even with the last elements of the report that we had on the aptitude [à subir son procès]which lead me to believe that perhaps his criminal responsibility was not engaged because of mental disorder, ”explained his lawyer, Julien Lespérance Hudon, at the end of the hearing on February 24.
Tell them apart
Prosecutor Dalphond explained Tuesday that basically, it is a question of determining whether, at the time of the facts, the accused was able to tell the difference between good and evil.
The 51-year-old driver from the Société de transport de Laval was arrested after his bus crashed into a daycare center in the Sainte-Rose district. Maëva David and Jacob Gauthier, both aged four, were killed in the tragedy; six children were also injured.
Mr. St-Amand is charged with two counts of first degree murder as well as seven other counts, including attempted murder and aggravated assault.
When he appeared on Tuesday, he was escorted by four correctional officers and a security guard from the Laval courthouse. He showed little emotion as he stood in the dock with his hands cuffed in front of him. He mainly fixed his gaze on the screen in front of the box where his lawyer participated in the hearing by videoconference.
There was no opposition to the request from the Institut Philippe-Pinel to extend the psychiatric assessment by one month. The next hearing has therefore been set for April 26.
The accused has been detained at the Philippe-Pinel Institute since February 23.