Suspect ‘in blackout’
Accused killer Brittany Mahingen was highly intoxicated when her mother Leanne died from numerous injuries while they were babysitting for relatives 18 months ago, a jury heard Friday.
Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Ken Hashman said in his report that, given Brittany’s prior history with alcohol, her reported consumption at the time of the alleged offence and the voracity of her presentation while at the forensic unit, it is reasonable to assume she achieved a significant level of alcohol intoxication that resulted in a blackout.
“I concluded with reasonable medical certainty at that point in time, looking at multiple factors I’ve indicated, she was in an advance state of intoxication and was in an alcoholic blackout,” Hashman told defence lawyer Mitch Stephensen.
Brittany Mahingen, now 20 and on trial for second-degree murder, told police and has testified at her trial that she has little memory of what occurred in the 13th-floor highrise apartment at 135 13th Ave. S.W. that night, because they had been drinking a number of bottles of wine.
She said she could not remember hitting her mother, but assumed that must have happened based on the injuries the woman sustained before her death on Nov. 3, 2010.
Forensic pathologist Dr. Sam Andrews testified during trial that Leanne Mahingen died from a “constellation or totality of injuries.”
They included numerous cuts, bruises, broken ribs, bite marks, stab wounds and brain hemorrhaging.
Hashman said the accused likely was filling in the blanks based on what she saw or was told about what happened in either an argument or a fight with her mother.
He also concluded in his report that the daughter’s substantial level of impairment could adversely affect her ability to make reasoned judgments.
Her blood-alcohol level was not tested after her arrest, but her mother’s level was 0.27 — well over three times the legal driving limit.
It is not known how much each of the women consumed, although there is evidence they drank for several hours and were possibly into a fourth bottle of homemade wine.
“We know if a person has an alcoholic blackout, they have at least three times the (. 08) legal limit in terms of being able to drive a vehicle,” Hashman said.