Assessing a man who stabbed his partner 80 times, a Saskatoon forensic psychiatrist diagnosed Blake Schreiner with a disorder that he said rendered the accused incapable of understanding the gravity of his deadly actions.
Dr. Mansfield Mela, an expert called by the defence, said he determined Schreiner has schizotypal personality disorder, which is on the schizophrenia spectrum. Mela said the condition is characterized by symptoms like anxiety, paranoia and misinterpretation of normal events as messages.
“He did not know that what he was doing was wrong,” Mela told court, stating Schreiner felt like his only choice at the time was to kill.
Schreiner is on trial for first-degree murder in the Jan. 29, 2019, stabbing of Tammy Brown. In previous testimony, Schreiner recalled laying in bed with his mind racing about being killed by Tammy, the Illuminati or another secret society. Schreiner said he’d heard a voice tell him, “just do it.”
Based on his interview and numerous journals kept by Schreiner, Mela determined the accused had delusions that everyday occurrences had deeper meanings, he was Jesus Christ or a king and that he faced persecution from “many, many sources.”
“He believed he was in grave danger,” Mela said.
In addition to schizotypal personality disorder, Mela also diagnosed Schreiner with social anxiety disorder, alcohol use disorder and hallucinogen use disorder.
Schreiner has acknowledged his fascination with psilocybin, commonly known as magic mushrooms. His repeated use of the drug is documented in a series of journals, some of which Mela said were easy to understand, while others appeared to be written in “almost code.”
The psychiatrist noted that most people who use hallucinogens know when they are high and that what they experience isn’t reality. Mela said Schreiner’s manifestations go beyond the effect of hallucinogens and “into the psychotic realm.”
Mela interviewed Schreiner on two occasions: on July 25, 2019 and Nov. 23, 2019. Between the two meetings, Mela said he received multiple scribblers titled “NCR materials.” NCR is the oft-used acronym for “not criminally responsible.”
In the second interview, Mela said Schreiner’s story changed.
In July 2019, Mela testified Schreiner told him he’d used hallucinogenic mushrooms in the hours before he stabbed and killed Tammy. In November, Schreiner allegedly told him he hadn’t used mushrooms for six weeks prior to the killing.
“I was left agreeing the second account was more factual than the first account,” Mela said.
Defence lawyer Brad Mitchell’s position is that Schreiner should be found not criminally responsible.
Under the Criminal Code of Canada, “no person is criminally responsible for an act committed or an omission made while suffering from a mental disorder that rendered the person incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the act or omission or of knowing that it was wrong.”
Crown prosecutor Melodi Kujawa is scheduled to cross-examine the expert witness on Tuesday, before calling expert testimony in rebuttal.
Justice Ron Mills is overseeing the judge-alone trial at Saskatoon’s Court of Queen’s Bench.
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