WATCH: Kelowna man not guilty of murdering his mother because of temporary insanity

KELOWNA – In the end, it was the verdict the prosecutor, the defence and the victim’s family wanted.

A Kelowna man who killed his mother in the family home in September 2012 has been found not guilty of second-degree murder.

Kate Gilchrist, 57, died from multiple hammer blows to her head.

There were two possible explanations for the senseless act of violence: either Conor Grossmith was compelled to kill by extreme alcohol intoxication or an extreme psychotic state stemming from his pre-existing bi-polar disease.

The judge ruled it was primarily the latter, finding Grossmith not criminally responsible by reason of mental disorder.

“At the time of the attack on his mother, I find that Conor Grossmith was incapable of knowing that his act was wrong. I find on a balance of probabilities, but for the major mental disorder, there would have been no attack,” says Madame Justice Alison Beames.

Harry Grossmith, Conor’s father, agrees with the verdict and read a prepared statement after it was delivered.

“How does on summarize the pain and sorrow our family, including my son, have experienced? How does one encapsulate this loss in a rational way? I can’t, so I won’t.”

After the killing, Conor Grossmith told police he had no recollection of the event.

“He was in such a disordered thought pattern, who knows what he was thinking? No-one knows what he was thinking. He was insane,” says trial prosecutor Frank Dubenski.

Grossmith could spend the rest of his life in a secure, psychiatric institution. He will be released only when a panel of mental health experts determines it’s safe to do so.