Judge extends assessment of man charged with 3 murders
More psychiatric testing is required for a Calgary man charged with murdering his girlfriend and his parents in separate incidents six days apart, court heard Friday.
Lawyer Ramsha Shafaq, appearing for defence counsel Rebecca Snukal, said doctors at the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre requested an extension for their assessment of murder suspect Dustin Duthie.
Provincial court Judge Jim Ogle agreed to extend the assessment order on Duthie to Dec. 6.
Duthie, 25, faces three charges of second-degree murder in the July deaths of his girlfriend Taylor Toller, his mother Shawn Boshuck, and stepfather Alan Pennylegion.
The bodies of all three were found at two locations in Calgary on July 31.
It’s alleged Toller was killed July 25 at a residence in the 2000 block of Applevillage Court S.E., while Boshuck and Pennylegion were slain the day their bodies were found in their home in the 10100 block of Hidden Valley Drive N.W.
Snukal told court last month that doctors have already found Duthie fit to stand trial, but she wished further testing to determine his mental state at the time of the killings. Under the Criminal Code, a person is fit if they understand the charges and can instruct counsel.
But Snukal requested further testing to determine if Duthie might qualify for a defence of not criminally responsible by reason of a mental disorder.
If an individual is suffering a mental disease at the time of the alleged offence, which impairs their contact with reality to the point they could not tell right from wrong, a finding of not criminally responsible can be made.
Duthie remains in custody.