North Shore Times (New Zealand)
Killer had ‘no hope’ of bail
A psychiatrist who interviewed the man who would go on to kill Christie Marceau believed he had ‘‘no hope’’ of being granted bail.
Marceau was killed in her home in Hillcrest on November 7, 2011 by Akshay Chand. Prior to her death, Chand was arrested for kidnapping and threatening her with a knife.
He was later bailed by Judge David McNaughton and went on to fatally stab Marceau 33 days later.
Chand was later found not guilty of her murder by reason of insanity and is currently a patient at the Mason Clinic.
During an inquest into Marceau’s death, Dr Ian Goodwin said Chand was the ‘‘perfect example of a psychopath’’ and ‘‘extraordinarily deceptive’’.
The psychiatrist was asked by the court to assess Chand after his initial attack in 2011 to determine his fitness to stand trial.
During this interview, Chand presented no signs of ‘‘psychotic phenomena’’ and Goodwin found his offending could not be directly linked to his mental state.
Goodwin was unaware the assessment would later be placed on the court file and referred to at Chand’s future bail hearing.
‘‘My opinion was he did not have a hope of bail based on the offending ... I didn’t think anyone would seriously consider bailing him,’’ he told the court.
An assessment to determine if a person was fit to stand trial should never be used to consider bail, Goodwin added.
The court heard how Judge McNaughton did refer to Goodwin’s report at Chand’s bail hearing, but only briefly.
Goodwin told the court Chand’s initial offending was born out a sense of revenge and offence by something Marceau had not done for him.
‘‘The way I interpreted it was a degree of narcissism, or entitlement. He felt he should have access to her and she should help him in a specific way.’’
Meanwhile, a forensic nurse who assessed Chand on the morning he was bailed said the soon-to-be murderer ‘‘wanted to get on with things’’.
Robin Bryt told the inquest Chand appeared ‘‘stable’’ before his hearing in front of Judge McNaughton. He was ‘‘logical’’ and and ‘‘future focused’’.
The inquest, which looks at what information the court had at the time Chand was bailed, continues this week.