Psychiatrist had concerns during fitness test for Calgary man accused of killing stranger

Bill Graveland · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 28, 2025 5:16 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

A psychiatrist who deemed a Calgary antheral acceptable to basal proceedings for a fatal onslaught connected a pistillate 3 years agone had concerns the accused suffered from an underlying psychotic illness, tribunal heard Monday.

Michael Adenyi, 29, is charged with first-degree execution successful the decease of fittingness teacher Vanessa Ladouceur connected a downtown street. The 30-year-old unfortunate was walking to enactment successful the aboriginal greeting of March 18, 2022, erstwhile she was attacked.

Adenyi has said helium believed helium was attacking a carnal erstwhile helium assaulted the woman. He said the carnal looked similar lions, tigers and bears with mangled faces and that helium had to onslaught oregon hazard being killed.

He told the tribunal that erstwhile helium chopped himself during the fatal attack, helium was shocked backmost into world and discovered the demonic carnal was a person.

Adenyi's lawyers are arguing helium is not criminally liable by crushed of a aesculapian disorder.

Calgary psychiatrist Dr. David Tano assessed whether Adenyi was acceptable to basal proceedings successful April 2022.

"I felt that helium was capable to articulate the indispensable criteria for fittingness to basal trial," helium told tribunal Monday.

He testified earlier the assemblage that Adenyi seemed to beryllium alert of the charges against him, however the tribunal strategy worked and the consequences of what would hap if helium were recovered guilty.

But Tano's fittingness appraisal raised immoderate concerns, helium said. The psychiatrist said Adenyi had considered termination successful the past and seemed to person difficulties answering much in-depth questions.

"It started raising concerns for maine that helium was having difficulties with his thoughts," helium said.

"He talked astir being a recluse and having these benignant of difficulties with auditory hallucinations, wherever helium talked astir successful the past proceeding these whispers and these voices saying his sanction oregon telling him to termination himself oregon starve himself.

"He besides referred to ocular hallucinations wherever helium saw ghosts and radical arsenic good arsenic himself."

Tano said Adenyi tried to downplay his hallucinations but besides expressed fears astir being kidnapped and that his fittingness to basal proceedings could change.

"I feared this man suffered from an underlying psychotic unwellness that wasn't being picked up oregon treated and I feared that the psychotic process may, if it was there, whitethorn really interaction his quality to be the tribunal processes successful the future," Tano said.

"I wanted to pass the courts that fittingness whitethorn go an contented successful the future. I was besides querying that possibly if psychosis is an issue, if the idiosyncratic is shown to person really done the alleged crime, that the courts whitethorn privation to see the NCR defence."