At the time he stabbed Tammy Brown 80 times, Blake Schreiner knew what he was doing and that his actions were wrong, according to a witness called by the Crown.
Schreiner, 39, admits to fatally stabbing Tammy in the early morning hours of Jan. 29, 2019. He testified that he heard a voice telling him to “just do it.”
The central question of his first-degree murder trial is whether or not he should be found not criminally responsible for the death.
Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Olajide Adelugba took the stand Wednesday at Saskatoon’s Court of Queen’s Bench and stated “paranoia did not play a part” in the killing.
“I did not think that mental illness of high intensity accounted for his action,” said Dr. Adelugba, who assessed Schreiner at Saskatchewan Hospital in April 2019.
The expert viewed the accused’s looming separation with Tammy and the fear of losing his children as the most significant factors in the killing.
“He said that if he couldn’t be a part of their lives, then she couldn’t be either,” said Dr. Adelugba.
While on the stand in his own defence last year, Schreiner stated it was Dr. Adelugba who made the comment about the children, not him.
Dr. Adelugba diagnosed Schreiner with alcohol use disorder, cannabis use disorder, alcohol-induced mood disorder, generalized anxiety disorder with panic attacks and depression with prominent anxiety symptoms.
During their interview, Schreiner said he did not hear voices and made no mention of his repeated use of hallucinogenic mushrooms, according to Dr. Adelugba.
While Schreiner had some paranoia, he did not have “paranoid delusions,” according to the psychiatrist. The witness also stated Schreiner’s psychiatric symptoms could be attributed to each of the diagnoses he laid out in court.
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Unlike fellow forensic psychiatrist Dr. Mansfield Mela, Dr. Adelugba didn’t diagnose Schreiner with schizotypal personality disorder, a condition on the schizophrenia spectrum.
Crown prosecutor Melodi Kujawa stated Schreiner gave five different versions of how he killed his partner: he told a 911 operator there was a break-in, he told police he killed Tammy because she’d make him appear to be a pedophile and he told Saskatchewan Hospital staff there was a dispute over their children.
In his first interview with Dr. Mela, Schreiner said he used magic mushrooms prior to the killing and in a subsequent interview, the accused said he hadn’t used mushrooms for six weeks prior to the homicide.
Dr. Mela said the various accounts do not lead him to change his diagnosis of schizotypal personality disorder.
Kujawa also questioned Dr. Mela on a finding he considered significant. Schreiner told the psychiatrist he considered killing his young daughter the night of Tammy’s death, but was “unable to.”
“I don’t recall him telling me why he didn’t kill her,” said Dr. Mela. The psychiatrist said he doesn’t know why Schreiner was able to stop himself from killing his daughter, but didn’t stop before killing his partner.
Under the Criminal Code, a person should be found not criminally responsible if their actions occur while the accused has a mental disorder that leaves them “incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the act … or of knowing that it was wrong.”
Defence lawyer Brad Mitchell is scheduled to cross-examine Dr. Adelugba Thursday. Justice Ron Mills is overseeing the trial, which is scheduled to continue for the rest of the week.
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