Psychologist testifies on trauma of accused

Man charged in death of girlfriend had a ‘chaotic childhood,’ murder trial hears

A Windsor man charged in the stabbing death of his girlfriend has a number of trauma, addiction and stress-related disorders primarily linked to a chaotic childhood “that have encompassed his life and ability to function,” a psychologist testified Wednesday.

John Wayne Pierre, 49, is on trial in Superior Court facing a charge of second-degree murder for the Nov. 1, 2016 stabbing and beating death of Lesley Watterworth. “(Pierre) was not raised right, in my opinion,” testified John Fabian, a U.S.-based psychologist who specializes in neuropsychology and forensic testing in preparation for court trials. The psychologist told the jury he has testified at more than 300 trials in a dozen states, although Pierre’s trial was his first in Canada.

Called as a witness by defence lawyer Ken Marley, Fabian told the court that he came up with his findings after interviewing and testing Pierre for seven hours in January. During Pierre’s testimony in court this week, the accused detailed a turbulent childhood in Leamington. He was raised by his mother in public housing as the youngest of eight children from three different men.

Pierre never had a relationship with his absent father. He stopped attending school in Grade 7, was removed from his mother and placed in the care of a truancy officer who he testified sexually abused him. He was able to return home after about a year of being in foster care, but never really returned to school and instead began doing farm work for the remainder of his youth. His drug use began at a young age and escalated quickly by 14 to cocaine and crack. After entering adulthood, he testified of living a transient life across Canada in B.C., Alberta and Ontario — much of that time suffering from a variety of alcohol and drug addictions. “(Pierre’s) mother had substance abuse issues,” Fabian told the court. “She had many boyfriends, some who brought more chaos and substance abuse issues into the home. He has no relationship with his biological father who had criminal activity and drug addictions. He had a truant officer who fostered him and then sexually abused him.

“These are all traumatic events. This affected how he developed. There is much research to trauma of the brain with this type of stress.”

Pierre returned to the Windsor area in 2012 to be closer to his ailing mother. She passed away in 2016, a few months before the alleged murder of Watterworth who he became involved with at the start of that year. Further adding to Pierre’s disorders were “significant addiction problems” that he carried throughout his life starting as a youth, Fabian told the jury. “This contributed to his inner turmoil,” he testified. “When there is lots of (drug ) abuse and chaos it’s like a person walking on egg shells in how he perceives and deals with stress.”

The psychologist described Pierre’s life as being “pseudosuicidal” given he has overdosed on drugs several times and has repeatedly found himself in “chaotic situations.”

When there is lots of (drug) abuse and chaos it’s like a person walking on egg shells in how he ... deals with stress.

Through his testing, the psychologist concluded that Pierre’s brain was “low-functioning” and with intellectual abilities below about 90 per cent of the population. But assistant Crown attorney Eric Costaris during cross-examination challenged whether Fabian in his findings considered that Watterworth had 69 wounds to her body, including 25 “defence” wounds on her hands and legs inflicted by Pierre.

He also questioned whether the psychologist had considered that the accused took the time to remove the knife used in the killing from a sheath before launching into his attack.

“Does that change your opinion?” Costaris asked. “Would you agree there was an added element, additional steps to perform the stabbing?”

Fabian agreed that was the case in the attack, but those factors were not part of his overall assessments.

Final lawyer submissions are scheduled for Thursday with the jury expected to begin deliberations on Friday.