Report on admitted killer's sanity remains under wraps
Lawyers wouldn’t say it, but discussions in a Kamloops courtroom on Monday, Nov. 5, implied a psychiatric report has found admitted killer Mark Lindsay to be suffering from a mental disorder.
Lindsay did not appear for the brief hearing before B.C. Supreme Court Justice Dev Dley, and he is not expected back in court until next month.
In August, the 25-year-old son of a former Edmonton police chief admitted to a string of violent crimes while standing trial at the Kamloops Law Courts.
Taking the stand in his own defence, Lindsay said he murdered his ex-girlfriend, Dana Turner, in Edmonton in August of 2011.
He also admitted to attacking an undercover RCMP officer in Barriere during a Mr. Big sting weeks later, and then to stabbing his cellmate at Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre last October.
Lindsay claimed in court to have been the target of a group of serial killers.
He testified he was acting in self-defence during each of the attacks.
After two weeks of trial, Dley ordered Lindsay to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
The findings of the report, which was completed in mid-October, have yet to be made public.
However, defence lawyer Don Campbell implied in court on Nov. 5 that the psychiatrist who conducted the report found Lindsay to be suffering from a mental disorder.
“If the Crown agrees with the report, we could conclude both matters [the Mr. Big attack and the KRCC stabbing] in one day,” Campbell said.
Prosecutor Will Burrows said he needs more time to speak with the psychiatrist before reaching a conclusion.
If the doctor’s report states Lindsay does suffer from a mental disorder, Dley could find him not criminally responsible for the stabbings of the undercover Mountie and the KRCC cellmate.
In that case, Lindsay would be handed over to the B.C. Review Board for disposition.
Lindsay is also facing a second-degree murder charge in Alberta in relation to Turner’s death.
He is expected to appear in a Red Deer courtroom for a preliminary hearing in January.
He’s slated to return to B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops on Dec. 10.
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