Autism distorted killer’s thinking: defence
Minassian’s condition during van attack similar to psychosis, court hears
A forensic psychiatrist retained by the defence to assess Alek Minassian’s state of mind as he ran down pedestrians in a van in 2018 opined in a report that Minassian was not in a psychotic state but “his autistic way of thinking was severely distorted in a way similar to psychosis,” court heard Thursday.
The brief section of the report, read by the Crown as they argued for access to a video of Minassian being interviewed by the defence psychiatrist, is the first indication of how Minassian will argue that he is not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder.
Minassian, 28, has pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of first-degga mitted that he killed, or intended to kill all 26 people and that his actions were planned and deliberate.
He will be arguing he is not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder and the primary evidence in the case is expected to come from forensic psychiatrists and other experts who will testify for the defence and then the Crown.
The exact mental disorder Minassian will be arguing he has has not yet been presented in open court and no psychiatric testimony has been heard. Minassian has been reportedly diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder known as Asperger syndrome.
On Thursday, Crown prosecutor Joe Callaghan read a short excerpt from the report prepared by the forensic psychiatrist Dr. Alexander Westphal, one of two forensic psychiatrists the defence is expected to call to testify.
Westphal is an associate professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine and, according to his resumé, has a clinical research focus on autism spectrum disorders including Asperger syndrome and the “assessment
and management of problematic behaviours of the type that can lead to legal involvement.” Westphal’s recent research includes a paper titled “Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Insanity Defence,” which examines how the disorder may affect the ability to understand wrongfulness.
Westphal described Minassian’s emotional state during their interview as “neutral but appropriate for the situation,”
g to the part of the report read by the Crown.
Minassian denied symptoms of a psychotic illness, including hallucinations and “thought insertion,” but had a thought process that was “concrete and inflexible,” the report said. Minassian has to be asked questions repeatedly and was sometimes “baffled,” unable to provide answers or providing answers that missed the point.
Callaghan argued that the assessment clearly relied on Minassian’s presentation and his manner of answering questions, and therefore it was necessary for the Crown experts to review the 15 hours of video interviews.
Minassian’s lawyer, Boris Bytensky, opposed the request and argued that the disclosure of the notes of the interviews with the accused and his parents were sufficient. Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy ruled that the defence would have to disclose the recordings if the related experts testify.
To determine whether Minassian is not criminally responsible, Molloy will have to determine first whether the accused had a mental disorder, and then whether that disorder rendered him either incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of his acts — a question linked to whether he understood the physical consequences of his actions — or whether he knew what he did was morally or legally wrong.
On Tuesday, the first day of the judge-alone Zoom trial, court heard a graphic agreed statement of facts detailing the sequence of Minassian’s planning and his four-minute rampage down Yonge Street on April 23, 2018.
Minassian drove the rented white van directly at pedestrians as he careened down the sidewalk, reaching speeds of 50 km/h. He accelerated as he drove into people and sent some flying into the air, dragging others along the pavement.
The Crown played a central piece of evidence Thursday regarding Minassian’s state of mind: his four-hour police interview given soon after the attack.
In the interview, he explained having a violent hatred of women and his desire to spark an “incel uprising” in order to “overthrow” society so that women would be forced to have sex with incels — part of a dehumanizing and misogynist set of beliefs held in the online community of “involuntary celibates.” The ideology has been designated a violent, extremist movement by the RCMP.
On Thursday the Crown filed more agreed statements of fact, providing background on two mass murderers notoriously associated with the group who Minassian claimed to have communicated with: Elliot Rodger and Chris Harper-Mercer.
No evidence was found on Minassian’s electronic devices that could establish if such communication occurred.
The trial resumes on Monday.