The B.C. Supreme Court says a Chilliwack man who stabbed his wife to death in 2024 was suffering from a "delusional belief" when the killing occurred, finding him not criminally responsible for her murder.
The court ruling posted online Wednesday says the man — who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim — killed his wife in the belief he was "saving her" from being tortured or raped by people targeting the couple.
It says the man, now 70 years old, had become "preoccupied" with concerns about not getting paid from his job, and began acting in unusual and paranoid ways in the lead-up to the killing.
The ruling says the couple lived with their adult son, who had called police twice over his father's "bizarre behaviour" in the days before the murder, but officers determined he didn't meet the criteria to be apprehended because nobody indicated he presented an immediate risk to himself or someone else.
The court ruling says the man stabbed his wife with a knife on Jan. 17, and she called police in "extreme distress," telling the call-taker that her husband was mentally ill and "trying to kill everybody."
The ruling says the man was taken to the ground by his son, but broke free and slashed his wife's throat with another knife, with the court finding he was suffering a mental disorder that included "delusional beliefs" that rendered him "incapable of knowing that his actions were morally wrong."
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
