Jury in Calgary stabbing murder trial told by judge to consider NCR defence first
The judge overseeing the trial of a Calgary man accused of fatally attacking and stabbing a woman three years ago has told the jury there are four possible verdicts it could reach.
Michael Adenyi, 29, is charged with first-degree murder in the 2022 death of fitness instructor Vanessa Ladouceur on a downtown street.
Adenyi has said he was hallucinating and believed he was attacking a creature when he attacked the woman and his lawyers say he is not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder.
He followed Ladouceur for nearly two blocks before bodychecking her into an alcove and stabbing her several times, including six wounds to the face. She died from a loss of blood.
Justice Jane Sidnell said the jury must first determine if Adenyi is not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder.
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'Mr. Adenyi relies on having suffered from a mental disorder at the time of the offence that rendered him incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the attack on Vanessa Ladouceur or of knowing that the attack on Vanessa Ladouceur was wrong,' Sidnell said Friday.
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'You will first consider Mr. Adenyi's NCR defence. Mr. Adenyi has the burden to prove his NCR defence. If you find that Mr. Adenyi has not proven his NCR defence, then you will consider the charge that Mr. Adenyi faces.'
Sidnell said if the NCR defence is rejected, the jury must then consider whether he is guilty of manslaughter, second-degree murder or first-degree murder. She is urging jurors to use their common sense and to concentrate only on the evidence heard at trial.
'There will be no more evidence. It is your duty to decide if Mr. Adenyi has proven that it is more likely than not that he is not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder at the time the crime was committed,' she said.
'You must make your decision on a rational and fair consideration and not on passion, sympathy or prejudice against Mr. Adenyi, the Crown or anyone else connected to this matter.'
The Crown has said that Adenyi is guilty, that the attack was planned and he did not tell the truth about his memories of the attack when he testified during the trial and to mental health professionals after his arrest.
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The case is to be in the hands of the jury soon.
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