SAINT-JEROME, Que. – A psychiatrist for the defence maintained her opinion that Guy Turcotte was suffering from mental illness prior to stabbing his children to death.
READ MORE: Psychiatrist testifies Turcotte too ill to stop himself from killing kids
Dominique Bourget continued to be cross-examined Monday by the Crown, which maintains Turcotte was fully aware of his actions the night the children were killed.
Turcotte has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the February 2009 slayings of Olivier, 5, and Anne-Sophie, 3.
READ MORE: Defence case begins in Guy Turcotte first degree murder trial
He admitted to causing their deaths, but his lawyers are arguing he should be found not criminally responsible by way of mental disorder.
WATCH: Guy Turcotte on trial
The Crown contended Turcotte is guilty of premeditated murder and that Bourget’s diagnosis of psychiatric illness is an opinion, not a certainty, given her assessment occurred some 11 months after the double slaying.
READ MORE: Psychiatrist tells Guy Turcotte’s trial he was anxious, suicidal after arrest
Bourget, a forensic psychiatrist, is on the stand for a fourth consecutive day at a courthouse north of Montreal where Turcotte’s first-degree murder trial has been unfolding since mid-September.
She maintained Turcotte’s brain was profoundly sick and he was unable to stop himself from killing his children.
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