A Langdale man who strangled and drowned his mother in a shower was acting under the psychotic belief that she was a Chinese spy sent to kill him, a B.C. Supreme Court Justice decided Thursday.
Raymond Irwin, 34, was found not criminally responsible. He will remain in custody in the maximum security ward of a forensic psychiatric hospital until the B.C. Review Board decides if, when and under what conditions to release him.Irwin appeared in Vancouver court this week, where both the Crown and defence counsels agreed he should be found not guilty of the second-degree murder of Mary Richards in 2004, due to his mental state at the time.
Irwin admitted to the details of his mother's killing in an agreed statement of facts both lawyers presented to Justice Barry Davies Monday. Davies said Thursday there was no contest as to whether it was Irwin who killed her. The evidence left no doubt Irwin had beat her and strangled her with a shower hose until she drowned, Davies added.
Irwin pleaded not guilty by reason of a mental disorder. The Crown and defence joined in recommending referring Irwin to the B.C. Review Board.
"The judge did exactly as we asked him to do," Crown counsel Alison Crowe said outside court Thursday.
Crowe explained all the psychiatric experts in the hospital, as well as an expert the Crown brought in for a second opinion, consistently agreed he was mentally ill.
"The Crown's role is to see that there is a fair outcome," Crowe said, adding all the relevant information was considered. "We have some obligation to listen to what the psychiatrists say. Even as a layperson, what's more complicated than the human mind?"
The review board will hold a hearing within 45 days to decide Irwin's fate, and his psychiatrist plans to recommend he remain in custody until his next annual review. The review board has the discretion to keep Irwin in custody for a maximum of life. Irwin has remained in a forensic psychiatric hospital in Port Coquitlam since shortly after his arrest in February, 2004.
Richards, 53, was murdered on Feb. 5 in a rental home in Langdale where Irwin and his wife Ami were living at the time. Irwin had summoned Richards to come to Langdale from her home in the Kelowna area because he was in crisis. Richards' body was found two days later on a logging road in Roberts Creek.
Crowe called two forensic psychiatric experts to the witness stand this week. Irwin's lawyer Jim Bahen did not cross-examine the witnesses.
Dr. Wahan Wanis, who has been Irwin's psychiatrist for two years since he arrived at the North Fraser Pretrial Centre before transferring to the Forensic Psychiatric Institute in Port Coquitlam, testified Monday.
"At that time, my opinion of him was that he was psychotic," Wanis told the court. Wanis almost immediately medicated Irwin to treat him.
According to Wanis, Irwin told him he believed his mother had turned into a Chinese spy who had come to kill him. Wanis said Irwin had been losing connection with reality through delusions and hallucinations.
Under the Criminal Code, the section 16 defence of mental disorder means the accused was "incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the act or omission or of knowing that it was wrong."
"He was unable to understand the wrongfulness of the act because he was psychotic," Wanis said.
Irwin's delusions were that the CIA were after him, that the Chinese were sending an assassin, that he had been hypnotized, that his mother was a Chinese agent, that his mother was possessed by evil spirits and that there was a row of women lined up outside his house waiting to come in, in the midst of an international war where Irwin was the only remaining male, Wanis said.
When Richards came in, he "saw her not as his mother but as a Chinese agent who was presenting a threat to him," Wanis explained, so Irwin wanted to exorcise the evil spirits from her. The court, with Richards' grieving family members in the gallery, then heard Wanis say that Irwin had dragged her into the shower, put cold water on her to get the evil spirits out before she fell to the floor.
He then put his foot on her neck until he felt she was unconscious, Wanis said. The autopsy found Richards died from drowning and marks on her body were consistent with an assault.
Tests revealed Irwin had been using marijuana. Wanis said Irwin's actions following the killing, including disposing of the body and writing down licence plates on the ferry, were consistent with his belief that agents were watching him.
Wanis testified he did not believe Irwin to be faking his symptoms to avoid prosecution. He does not believe Irwin committed the act in a rage because his actions were ritualistic, almost torturous. Wanis said every move Irwin makes in the forensic hospital is watched.
"He's not faking it and he's not making it up," Wanis said.
Wanis recommended Irwin return to the forensic hospital to be referred to the review board within 45 days. The review board would then decide between custody in the forensic hospital, a conditional discharge or an absolute discharge. Wanis said he would recommend a year custody order before going back for an annual review. He noted the review board does not have a cap on the length of stay in custody and could range from 45 days to life. Wanis' opinion is that Irwin poses a high risk now.
On Tuesday, the second forensic psychiatric witness, Dr. Shabehram Lohrasbe, shared consistent opinions to Wanis.Irwin's wife Ami, a U.S. citizen, had left Irwin a day or two before Richards arrived. As well, Richards had recently financially cut off Irwin, who was not working.
Richards' family members travelled from Ontario and Kelowna to court this week. Outside court, Richards' sister Phyllis Garfield described how the murder has impacted her family.
"She was our family glue...she was our peacemaker," Garfield said. "You don't learn to accept it, you learn to live with it."
The family has its doubts whether Irwin is mentally ill, but Garfield explained that she is trying to accept that fact to help make sense of what happened.
"It's hard as laypeople to understand it," Garfield said. "To think he was ill and not totally responsible, it offers more sustenance in terms of carrying on."
The family plans to be at the review board hearings, which are open to the public, to give input on the conditions of his possible release to ensure the family's safety is not at risk.
At the time, Irwin was involved with a belief system, similar to a cult, in which believers place themselves beside God and above angels, Garfield said.
"He felt that to achieve his journey, no one could stand in the way," she explained.
According to her, Irwin had contacted his half-brother David after the murder seeking half of Richards' inheritance. The family is concerned Irwin may profit from his actions.
