Close X
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
ADVT 
National

Psychiatrist Testifies In Trial For Man Accused Of Stabbing Friend 73 Times

The Canadian Press, 20 Feb, 2015 11:34 AM
  • Psychiatrist Testifies In Trial For Man Accused Of Stabbing Friend 73 Times
KAMLOOPS, B.C. — A psychiatrist has told a second-degree murder trial that people awakening from a deep sleep show impaired mental functions made far worse by alcohol and drugs.
 
Cory Bird, 27, is accused in the death of Albert Michell, who was stabbed 73 times and found in a Lytton-area apartment in August 2008.
 
B.C. Supreme Court has heard that Bird and Michell drank 15 beers, nearly an entire bottle of liqueur and also smoked marijuana together before Bird passed out and awoke to find Michell sexually assaulting him.
 
While Bird’s recollections about what happened that night have shifted in different police interviews and testimony, he maintains that he was drunk when he was awakened by Michell.
 
Addictions specialist Dr. Shaohua Lu testified that Bird drank the equivalent of six to nine beers the night Michell was killed, and that amount of alcohol seriously impairs what he called “response inhibition."
 
Lu said alcohol impairs the ability to recognize the consequences of certain actions, but responses are highly variable from person to person.
 
“A guy in a bar with six drinks may get bumped into and be jovial and say, ‘How’s it going?,'" Lu said.
 
“Another guy might say, ‘What’s going on, buddy?’ and get into a fight.”
 
Lu said that in one example, any parent awakened by their child in the first few hours after falling into a deep sleep understands the confusion in the first few moments.
 
Under cross-examination from Crown lawyer Bernie Caffaro, Lu acknowledged his examples are hypothetical and that he couldn't find any studies.
 
“There’s not a lot of research,” he said.
 
Another witness testified earlier this week that Michell sexually assaulted him on two occasions years earlier as he slept and only stopped under threat.
 
Robert Bill, 35, said he was 17 when he drank and did cocaine and marijuana with his brother, a friend and Michell and awoke to find Michell sexually assaulting him.
 
He said he threatened Michell with a knife to make him stop, and told him he would kill him if he ever did it again.
 
Michell, he said, bought all the drugs and alcohol.
 
He said he first reported the incident to police in 1998 but no charges resulted.
 
The jury is expected to be sequestered on Monday to consider Bird’s fate.

MORE National ARTICLES

Target generated buzz with fashion but felled by pricing, niche focus: experts

Target generated buzz with fashion but felled by pricing, niche focus: experts
TORONTO — Target generated big buzz north of the border with a Jason Wu pop-up shop, splashy presentations at Toronto's World MasterCard Fashion Week and collaborations with homegrown brands such as Roots and Beaver Canoe.

Target generated buzz with fashion but felled by pricing, niche focus: experts

Target's failure as a lesson for other U.S. retailers eyeing Canada, experts say

Target's failure as a lesson for other U.S. retailers eyeing Canada, experts say
TORONTO — U.S. retailers planning to cross the border can learn some valuable lessons from the failure of Target, which announced Thursday it is shutting down its 133 Canadian stores just two years after its much-anticipated launch.

Target's failure as a lesson for other U.S. retailers eyeing Canada, experts say

Feds spend $50,000 for flag's 50th birthday celebration next month

Feds spend $50,000 for flag's 50th birthday celebration next month
OTTAWA — The federal government has allotted $50,000 for celebrations for the upcoming 50th birthday of the iconic Maple Leaf flag.

Feds spend $50,000 for flag's 50th birthday celebration next month

Supreme Court won't hear case involving man's stolen marijuana plants

Supreme Court won't hear case involving man's stolen marijuana plants
OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear the case of an Ontario man who sued his insurance company over stolen marijuana plants.

Supreme Court won't hear case involving man's stolen marijuana plants

Mulcair gets ready for election, shakes up team, steps up attack on Trudeau

Mulcair gets ready for election, shakes up team, steps up attack on Trudeau
OTTAWA — Tom Mulcair is trying to turn around the NDP's flagging fortunes as he gears up for a federal election within nine months, shaking up his office and campaign team and stepping up his attacks on Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau.

Mulcair gets ready for election, shakes up team, steps up attack on Trudeau

Newfoundland and Labrador premier wants to cut 10 ridings before election

Newfoundland and Labrador premier wants to cut 10 ridings before election
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Newfoundland and Labrador's premier says he wants to cut the size of the legislature by 10 from 48 to 38 seats before the next election.

Newfoundland and Labrador premier wants to cut 10 ridings before election