Court Orders Physic Evaluation of Brentwood Slayings Suspect

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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A provincial court has announced that the suspect charged with five counts of first-degree murder in the April stabbing deaths of five university students, 22-year-old Matthew de Grood, will be evaluated to determine whether he can be found criminally responsible if convicted. De Grood was present during the court proceeding on Tuesday morning, when it decided to set a two-week preliminary hearing for March 2, 2015.

Crown prosecutor, Neil Wiberg, has requested the court to allow de Grood to be shifted to Alberta Hospital Edmonton for a 30-day physic evaluation to determine his mental fitness at the time of the slayings. Prior to today’s proceedings, de Grood only appeared on May 22, when he was found fit to stand trial. Meanwhile, Defence lawyer Allan Fay highlighted that even though de Grood has been found fit to stand trial, it only infers that his client is able to understand the process and instruct counsel and so he could still very well be mentally ill.

Among the five university students fatally stabbed stabbings on April 15 were 27-year-old Josh Hunter, 23-year-old Kaitlin Perras, 21-year-old Zackariah Rathwell and 22-year-old Jordan Segura, while they were celebrating the final day of classes at a house party in the northwest community of Brentwood. It is vital to understand that being found not criminally responsible is distinct from a “guilty” or “not guilty” verdict because someone not criminally responsible isn’t guilty of an offence, they can be confined indefinitely in a secure psychiatric hospital if they pose a danger to society.

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