I heard voices before mother’s death, man, 22, told police
A Salt Spring Island man told police he was hearing voices for a period of time before the death of his mother, the Crown said Tuesday at Martin Vandenberg’s first appearance in Duncan provincial court.
“And those voices were a direct result of the offence that’s being alleged,” said prosecutor Jim Blazina.
Vandenberg, 22, is charged with the second-degree murder of his mother, Heather Jones, on Dec. 6. The man, who has been certified under the Mental Health Act, was arrested last Friday by the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit. He looked sad and lost during his brief court appearance.
Blazina asked Judge Carmen Rogers to order a fitness assessment for Vandenberg at the Forensic Psychiatric Institute in Port Coquitlam. The assessment will determine whether Vandenberg is fit to stand trial.
Normally, a fitness assessment takes five days. In this case, the Crown asked for a 28-day assessment.
Duty counsel Tom Morino explained the situation to Vandenberg and he consented to the longer period of time for the assessment.
“He had no difficulty with that,” Morino said.
Rogers told Vandenberg he will be sent to the psychiatric hospital as soon as a bed is available.
His next court appearance has been scheduled for Feb. 6 in Duncan.
Martin Vandenberg Sr., who was in court Tuesday, said his son has a learning disability and was pushed through school though he can barely read and write.
The young man was on social assistance for a disability and would help out at his father’s fouracre farm, where he also lived. Over the years, he has been taken to hospital to be assessed but he was always discharged without a proper diagnosis or long-term help, said his father.
Jones, 47, was born and raised on Salt Spring, and ran a taxi company on the island.
Salt Spring RCMP were called to her Maliview Road home shortly before noon on Dec. 6. Jones was found dead in the duplex she shared with her adult daughter.
Vandenberg was arrested that day, then released from police custody and apprehended under the Mental Health Act.
Under Section 28 of the act, a police officer might apprehend and immediately take a person to a doctor for examination if the officer is satisfied the person is a danger to himself or others and is apparently a person with a mental disorder.
A doctor is then responsible for determining whether a person should remain under the care of a medical professional or be released from hospital.