TORONTO — A forensic psychiatrist has conceded under cross-examination by the Crown that the man who shot up Toronto's Eaton Centre may have been motivated by revenge.
However, Dr. Julian Gojer says he believes Christopher Husbands was incapable of appreciating the nature of his acts when he gunned down two men and wounded five other people in June 2012.
The defence is calling on the jury to declare Husbands not criminally responsible by reason of a mental disorder — post-traumatic stress.
The Crown, by contrast, suggests Husbands may have been fabricating his condition — that he had no reason to fear for his life.
In fact, the prosecution points to some witness evidence that Husbands sparked the encounter with his victims.
Husbands has maintained he was suddenly confronted by men who had attacked him months earlier and he fired at them in a blind panic.
"His actions were more instinctive and reflexive," Gojer testified.
Superior Court Justice Eugene Ewaschuk briefly outlined the defence of not criminally responsible for jurors.
Essentially, it comes down to whether the accused was suffering from a mental disorder and didn't know that what he was doing was wrong.
"The burden in this case is on the accused to prove insanity," Ewaschuk said.
In cross-examination, prosecutor Mary Humphrey got Gojer to concede that Husbands may have fabricated his symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
He also conceded Husbands may have had a mental disorder but been motivated purely by revenge when he gunned down Nixon Nirmalendran and his brother Nisan in the crowded mall food court.
Husbands has maintained he fired in a blind panic when he was suddenly confronted by the brothers — two men involved in a savage beating and stabbing of the accused months before the mall shooting.
Husbands, who has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, maintains Nirmalendran pointed to him and said to his brother, 'Shoot him!'
"If Christopher Husbands is lying about those two words being said, then the whole house of cards falls down," Humphrey said.
"Yes. But he could have been misperceiving. He might mishear," Gojer responded. "If he lied, end of story."
However, Gojer said he believed Husbands was in a disassociative state caused by his post-traumatic stress.
