Accused says he was ‘paranoid’ about professor before attack
Former UBC student allegedly tried to kill a female resident of his dorm
A former UBC student who was charged in connection with the assault of another student in her university dorm testified Wednesday that he had paranoid thoughts in the hours before the attack.
Thamer Hameed Almestadi, 19, said that on Oct. 4, 2016, the day of the attack, he attended a math class but had trouble focusing and thought his professor was trying to send him a message.
He told B.C. Supreme Court Judge Margot Fleming he became distracted, went to the washroom to wash his face and when he returned the professor made a comment about the monster Godzilla that he was concerned might have been directed at him.
Under questioning from defence lawyer Tamara Duncan, Almestadi said it was not the first time that he thought the math professor was trying to send him a message.
He said that after the math class, he thought he saw the professor outside a Tim Hortons and then saw someone talking on the phone and believed the man was talking to the professor.
Almestadi said he became confused and instead of attending the next class, he decided to return to his Salish House student residence and lie down on his bed.
“How did you feel?” Duncan asked.
“I was getting paranoid about what I had seen right before that, about my professor,” said Almestadi, who has pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of Mary Hare. He has also pleaded not guilty to aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.
“Were you scared?” Duncan asked.
“I was,” Almestadi replied. The accused, who is from Saudi Arabia and is Muslim, said he tried to calm himself by listening to an audio recording of the Qur’an.
The main issue at the trial is whether Almestadi is not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder.
Court has heard that shortly after returning to his residence, Almestadi allegedly went to Hare’s room, also in the Salish residence, and tried to choke her and cut her throat with a knife before other students intervened.
Almestadi’s testimony on Wednesday was about to get to the point where the alleged assault occurred, but had to be adjourned until Thursday when an Arabic interpreter did not return following the afternoon break.
Earlier on Wednesday afternoon, the accused testified that in the days before the assault, he became concerned about his mental health following a discussion with a student residence adviser.
He said that on one occasion he decided to go to the hospital and seek help, but was told the earliest available appointment to see a doctor was Oct. 14.
Almestadi said he tried to call to see if there was an earlier appointment but was unable to get one. He said he discussed with a student residence adviser the possibility that he could defer his studies.
Almestadi said that before the assault, he had only met Hare once very briefly, and that he was attracted to her and had checked out her Facebook page. He said he was also attracted to other women.
The accused said Hare did nothing to make him angry, and before the attack he had no violent thoughts about her.
Before attending UBC, he had not suffered from any emotional or mental-health issues, he said.
Almestadi, the youngest of seven children, first came to Canada in 2015 to take English language studies and later moved to Vancouver to attend UBC.