A picture taken of Silas Starblanket being led away from Prince Albert Court of Queen's Bench. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Court proceedings

Man diagnosed with Schizophrenia, not criminally responsible for murder says defence

Dec 14, 2021 | 2:00 PM

A forensic psychiatrist, testifying Tuesday at the Silas Starblanket murder trial, said the 21-year-old was psychotic and suffering from hallucinations at the time he repeatedly stabbed Evander Sanderson in August 2019.

At the commencement of proceedings at Prince Albert Court of Queen’s Bench, Starblanket formally entered a plea of not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder.

On Aug. 28, 2019, 19-year-old Sanderson was attacked in Prince Albert’s Midtown area and later died in hospital.

The two men were cousins and friends up until the time of the incident. While the agreed statement of facts indicates Starblanket did commit the act, the defence is arguing he should be found not criminally responsible due to his mental state.

Dr. Todd Tomita represented the Crown’s lone witness, and testifying by video, explained Starblanket’s drug-induced (cannabis) psychosis had led to the act, adding when he assessed Starblanket last January, his conclusion was Starblanket was suffering from Schizophrenia.

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A picture taken of Evander when he was 18. (Facebook/ Sophie Sanderson)

Tomita also explained Starblanket had been hospitalized for a period of five days in the month prior to the incident and upon his release back into the community, had stopped taking the prescribed medication for his psychosis.

When asked by the Crown if Starblanket presented a danger now to the community, Tomita confirmed his opinion that if left untreated, Starblanket could present a risk again.

A number of family members were present for trial Tuesday, which was originally scheduled for four days. When Starblanket made his first court appearance, a family member at that time had expressed concerns to paNOW about his mental health, and had explained the family’s attempts to have him remain in hospital, were unsuccessful.

The defence was expected to call its own forensic psychiatrist to testify, but Justice G.A. Meschishnick said there was no need, given that he had access to both reports and both doctors arrived at the same conclusion.

With the evidentiary stage of the trial concluded, the case has been adjourned to Wednesday morning for sentencing submissions. It’s unclear if a verdict will follow, or if a victim impact statement will be read aloud in court.

Starblanket has been in custody since the incident two years ago, transferring in July 2020 from the Prince Albert Correctional Centre to Sask. Hospital.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell