CALGARY – The young man charged in Calgary’s worst mass murder has been ordered to undergo a 30-day assessment to determine whether he is mentally fit to stand trial.
Matthew de Grood, 22, is charged with five counts of first-degree murder after a violent stabbing spree at a house party on Tuesday, April 15th.
Zackariah Rathwell, 21, Jordan Segura, 22, Josh Hunter, 23, Kaitlin Perras, 23, and Lawrence Hong, 27, were celebrating the end of the school year when they were killed.
De Grood has been held at the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre since his arrest last week.
He appeared in court via closed-circuit television on Tuesday, wearing blue coveralls.
His lawyer Allan Fay says his client is doing as well as can be expected.
“He’s obviously apprehensive and concerned,” explained Fay. “But he seems to be holding up.”
“I’ve had a number of conversations with him, I found him to be lucid, he seems to appreciate the situation he’s in – but again I’m not a professional Psychiatrist,” he says.
“It’s a horrendous case. It’s touched so many lives. It’s going to be tough,” adds Fay.
Fay says De Grood’s family has not been able to see him yet, but he appears to be concerned about his parents’ welfare.
De Grood’s court appearance comes as another funeral is scheduled in Calgary.
Rathwell, a promising musician with the band Zackariah and the Prophets, will be remembered at a service on Tuesday.
Three funerals were held on Monday for Rathwell’s bandmate Hunter, Segura and Perras. A funeral is scheduled to be held Wednesday for Hong.
– With files from The Canadian Press
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