A Calgary man accused of stabbing his ex-wife and her friend to death will no longer take the stand in his own defence.
Hari Pal is on trial for two counts of second-degree murder for the May 2014 deaths of his estranged wife, Sanjula Devi, and her friend, Fahmida Velji-Visram. Pal is also charged with the attempted murder of his landlord, who tried to intervene in the attack.
READ MORE: Victim who tried to stop 2014 fatal stabbings of 2 women testifies in Calgary court
Prosecutor Joe Mercier said Pal was on a “stabbing frenzy” the day of the attacks and called it a “murderous mission.”
Mercier has asked Queen’s Bench Justice Gerard Hawco to convict Pal of all charges.
Velji-Visram’s husband Rahim Visram has attended all of the court proceedings and witnessed numerous delays.
“It is stressful, but to me it’s important to be here,” he said. “As painful as it is to sit through all the evidence and relive everything, it’s got to be done. It’s going to give me closure finally.”
He broke down as he described losing his wife so tragically, as they were newlyweds.
“One of the sad parts was…the day before we were planning a family; 24 hours later I’m planning a funeral,” he said.
Velji-Visram was helping Devi gather some belongings from her home on May 4, 2014 when they were attacked. Both women were stabbed to death.
The trial was originally scheduled for September 2016 but was delayed several times to allow time for further psychiatric evaluations.
Proceedings stopped abruptly Wednesday afternoon when Pal was being sworn in to testify in his own defence. That’s when the accused stuck a finger in his ear and told court his deceased wife was speaking to him and that he couldn’t hear anything else.
Thursday morning, a forensic psychiatrist was again asked to assess Pal’s mental fitness to stand trial.
“In my opinion, what he’s experiencing right now would be consistent with an acute stress reaction,” Dr. David Tano testified of his Pal’s current condition.
“He was once again talking about the voice of his wife that seems to arise every time he’s stressed.”
“My understanding is that yesterday…he felt yesterday was an extremely stressful day,” Tano explained to the court.
Watch below from June 19: Hari Pal appeared in court Monday and when asked to enter a guilty plea, he stated: “I do not know.” Tracy Nagai explains.
“Could the accused be faking this?” Queen’s Bench Justice Gerard Hawco asked Tano.
Tano conceded that was a possibility, but noted his response to stress has been consistent while monitored during his time at the Calgary Remand Centre.
Pal’s defence lawyer Andre Oullette told court, “the issue from my perspective is whether or not he is in a position to participate in the proceedings” and went on to suggest he is not able.
“This process will never end if every time his stress level gets to the point where he can’t hear,” Justice Hawco said.
Court heard Tano has assessed Pal on several occasions since 2016. He found him fit to stand trial on Monday and earlier this month.
Later Thursday afternoon, Justice Hawco ruled Pal is fit to stand trial.
Defence then changed its position and will not be calling any evidence. Pal will no longer testify.
Closing arguments by defence counsel will take place Friday.
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