Defendant described as‘globally impaired’
The woman accused of killing Frances Candice Little Light in her westside apartment in 2016 functions at about the level of a three- or four-year-old child, court was told Monday in the manslaughter trial of Jillian Wendy Across The Mountain.
Valerie Jean Massey, a neuro-psychologist and expert on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, testified for the defence that Across The Mountain’s ability to understand conversational English is the lowest she’s ever seen, and she is, for all intents and purposes, mentally handicapped.
“She is what we call globally impaired,” Massey said.
She said the accused’s ability to make decisions is “extremely” limited, and she can become easily overwhelmed when life gets stressful.
Across The Mountain is accused of killing Little Light sometime during the day Feb. 7, 2016. Court was told earlier in the trial the two women were seen together in the apartment that morning, and they were arguing. Little’s Light’s body was found several hours later, but Across The Mountain was gone.
During her statement to police three days after Little Light’s death, Across The Mountain said she left the apartment early in the morning on Feb. 7, and never returned. When an officer told her she killed her former intimate partner, Across The Mountain said she could only remember going to a relative’s home after leaving the apartment.
Other witnesses testified, however, they saw the accused at the apartment building later in the day.
Massey, who conducted tests on Across The Mountain in March, said the accused’s memory is also impaired, and when she can’t remember incidents she fills in the gaps with “whatever” she can, even if they never happened.
Massey pointed out that because Across The Mountain is already brain-damaged from alcohol consumed by her mother, her ability to function only gets worse when she drinks alcohol herself. That can cause what is known as Korsakoff syndrome, a chronic memory disorder most commonly caused by alcohol misuse. “Every 15 minutes is a new day.” Massey said Across The Mountain’s memory is dependent on what is going on around her, and she agreed with the Crown prosecutor that the accused is not a reliable narrator of her own life and will often simply say what she thinks is true.
Lethbridge lawyers Michael Dietrich and Mansoor Khan are scheduled to continue their case for the defence today. Dietrich previously notified court that Across The Mountain intends to testify before defence concludes its case.
Follow @DelonHerald on Twitter