TORONTO — The trial of a Toronto senior charged with the murder of a fellow long-term care home resident is hearing from a psychiatrist who examined the man before a deadly attack at the facility.
Peter Brooks has pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder of 72-year-old Jocelyn Dickson and the attempted murder of 91-year-old Lourdes Missier.
Crown prosecutors have told jurors that in March 2013, the now 72-year-old Brooks used his cane to attack Dickson and Missier in their beds.
The Crown has also said that "bad relationships and bad feelings" existed between Brooks and certain residents at the Wexford Residence in Toronto's east end.
Dr. Stephen Barsky, an expert in geriatric psychiatry, assessed Brooks in April 2012 after receiving reports of aggression by the man against other residents at the home.
Barsky says he had concerns about Brooks' level of judgement, found him somewhat "disinhibited" and felt the man might present a "chronic risk" of preying on residents in the facility.
"I felt Mr. Brooks would be a better candidate for placement elsewhere, such as in a psychiatric group home where there might not be other frail elderly people he could prey on," said Barsky.
