Crown quizzes psychiatrist in Saskatoon murder trial about potential motive, impact of potent cannabis

Dan Zakreski · CBC News

· Posted: May 27, 2025 5:42 PM EDT | Last Updated: 21 minutes ago

The Crown successful the Thomas Hamp execution proceedings successful Saskatoon is suggesting the 28-year-old was in a drug-induced psychosis when helium killed his spouse Emily Sanche 3 years ago.

Prosecutor Cory Bliss raised the mentation portion cross-examining defence witnesser Shabehram Lohrasbe, a forensic psychiatrist who did an appraisal connected Hamp, who is charged with second-degree execution and connected proceedings astatine Court of King's Bench earlier Justice Grant Currie.

Lohrasbe did not disagree with Bliss, noting "this world poses a dilemma."

"There is the anticipation this is each the effect of cannabis, but we won't know."

Lohrasbe concluded successful his report, based connected 5 hours of interviews with Hamp and a reappraisal of notes kept by Sanche and her cousin, that Hamp "was acutely and severely psychotic" erstwhile helium fatally stabbed the 25-year-old in their flat connected Feb. 20, 2022.

"Psychosis was the ascendant origin that drove his violence," Lohrasbe wrote successful his 25-page assessment.

"It is apt that his capableness to 'know' that his actions were wrong, successful the existent world, was severely impaired."

In the report, Lohrasbe said his conclusion acknowledged that Hamp's terrible obsessive compulsive upset (OCD) and cannabis usage upset some could person contributed to the psychotic episode. But helium said the grade to which they influenced what happened could ne'er beryllium known.

Bliss quizzed Lohrasbe connected the wide interaction of today's high-potency cannabis connected intelligence health. The B.C. doctor has practised psychiatry for 4 decades and said cannabis potency contiguous is simply a acold outcry from the "hippie pot" helium encountered astatine the commencement of his career.

Lohrasbe said that, due to the fact that of this potency, a drug-induced psychosis from cannabis could look similar intelligence illness. Bliss said this has important implications successful this case, due to the fact that a psychotic interruption caused by substances changes whether an accused is criminally responsible.

Lohrasbe added that the detailed notes and substance messages written by Sanche, who was studying for a master's grade successful counselling and expressed concerns astir her partner's deteriorating intelligence wellness successful the twelvemonth earlier helium killed her, and notes instrumentality by Sanche's cousin, Catherine, are "incredibly important documents" due to the fact that of the nonsubjective insights they supply into his behaviour.

• Psychiatric study says Saskatoon antheral 'acutely and severely psychotic' erstwhile helium fatally stabbed spouse successful 2022

Bliss questioned whether it's imaginable that Sanche's notes detailing how Hamp needed nonrecreational assistance could person provided a motive for the attack.

Hamp was expected to spell to the infirmary the time helium killed Sanche and Bliss suggested that helium could person seen this arsenic Sanche pulling backmost successful the narration and abandoning him.

"I get your point," Lohrasbe replied.

"But that's been ongoing [the notes] and I fail to spot however that translates into abandoning him."

Hamp primitively told a neighbour and constabulary that a antheral had breached into the third-floor flat and attacked the couple. He recanted that later, saying that helium stabbed Sanche and past himself.

Bliss suggested that Hamp concocted the intruder communicative and past stabbed himself to enactment the alibi.

Lohrasbe said that was possible, "but we'll ne'er know."

The defence closed its lawsuit aft Lohrasbe's testimony. Bliss past successfully applied to recall Hamp to question him connected the contents of the assessment.

He asked Hamp astir the interaction of his cannabis use, successful notation to a missive helium wrote.

While successful custody aft Sanche's death, Hamp wrote a missive to Emily's cousin, Catherine. In the letter, entered arsenic an exhibit, helium speaks astir his escalating paranoia successful the autumn of 2021.

"I did not judge it astatine the time, but I present deliberation this paranoia and ensuing psychosis were caused by the weed I was smoking," helium wrote.

Lohrasbe had testified that the autarkic documentation of his deteriorating intelligence wellness from Emily and Catherine Sanche is truthful important because when radical are psychotic, their intelligence scenery is rapidly evolving.

Bliss and defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle volition contiguous closing arguments Wednesday.