The judge in the trial of Alpha Henry, who is accused of murdering his parents in 2022, is expected to make her decision Thursday afternoon on the accused’s state of mind before concluding the criminal proceedings against him. Mental health is at the center of the trial, so the individual’s culpability has taken a back seat for now.
The 30-year-old Torontonian is accused of the unpremeditated murder of his parents and attempted murder of his brother, an Air Canada flight attendant at the time.
Colin et Veronica Henry were found stabbed and doused with gasoline in the bathtub of their home around 1:30 a.m. on the night of September 21, 2022 in the neighborhood Rexdale.
In this case, the Crown must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Henry caused the death of his parents, that he intended to kill them and that he was of sound mind at the time of the alleged acts.
It was this twist that somehow deviated the trial, forcing both parties to present their arguments on this subject during the final arguments on November 20.
Open in full screen mode
A crowdfunding pot was created after the murders of Colin Henry, 68, and Veronica Henry, 67, to help their son Daniel (center) cope with their disappearance.
Photo : GoFundMe
If the judge sides with the Crown, the defense has already indicated that it will file a motion to say that its client did not know what he was doing that night and that he is therefore not criminally responsible. cause of mental disorders.
This defense tactic is criticized by the Crown, which always prefers that non-criminal responsibility be the subject of a hearing at the start of a trial and not at the end of the pleadings.
In Canada, the defense of an accused nevertheless has the right to present this position at the beginning and at the end of the proceedings.
Open in full screen mode
Alpha Henry, in the corridor of his parents’ apartment building, is treated by paramedics for a hand injury before being transferred to hospital under police escort on the night of September 21, 2022.
Photo: COURTESY OF THE SUPERIOR COURT OF ONTARIO
The defense has already admitted that it has not yet requested a psychiatric evaluation of its client.
The trial, however, showed thatAlpha Henry was visibly troubled at the time of his arrest, but the defense never identified any diagnosis regarding his client’s mental health.
She maintains for the moment that it was her client’s brother who killed their parents after a heated exchange with their mother before attacking her with a knife.
Alpha Henry was also injured in the attack and had to be hospitalized during the night when the victims were discovered.
The brothers Henry had been arrested the same night, Daniel at a gas station and Alpha in the victims’ apartment.
Open in full screen mode
Alpha Henry waits to be taken by an ambulance to the hospital the night of September 21, 2022 outside his murdered parents’ apartment building.
-Photo: COURTESY OF THE SUPERIOR COURT OF ONTARIO
The two men had called 911 to say that they had each been victims of an attack by the other.
However, for the Crown, it is impossible that Daniel Henry could have killed his parents and injured his brother, because the double murder was committed two days earlier while the flight attendant was in Japan.
The Crown admits that it is unable to establish the exact date and time of the parricide, for lack of a conclusive autopsy, but the knife attack on Daniel Henry certainly did not take place on the same day as the double murder.
However, she dismisses any idea that it could be another man. She further acknowledges that it is not known how the accused attacked his parents or the motive for the double murder.
Open in full screen mode
Daniel Henry at the Etobicoke General Hospital, at night on September 21, 2022, under police escort.
Photo: COURTESY OF THE SUPERIOR COURT OF ONTARIO
The defense recalls that the autopsy was inconclusive and that it cannot be confirmed that the couple was killed two days before the discovery of the two bodies.
She adds that there is no evidence by ADN that his client carried the bodies into the bathroom to put them in the bathtub.
There is also no evidence, according to her, that her client cleaned traces of blood from the floor and walls after dragging the bodies.
The defense also questions the identity of the man seen on surveillance video throwing bags into a garbage container.
Open in full screen mode
Defendant Alpha Henry waits for Detective Mike McGinn in the interrogation room at Police Station 23 following his interactions with Officer Eric Tang on September 21, 2022.
Photo: COURTESY OF THE SUPERIOR COURT OF ONTARIO
She claims that the stranger in question is not wearing the same clothes and that his backpack is different from that of her client.
The defense acknowledges that there are differences between his client’s call to 911 and his comments at the police station, but explains that the accused was still emotional after his brother’s attack.
The judge Joan Barrettof the Superior Court of Ontario, is likely to agree with the Crown, since it has already explained that the police interrogation ofAlpha Henry could be admitted as evidence, because the accused had the mental capacity to understand what was said to him at the police station.
She will make her decision at 3 p.m. this afternoon.
If it agrees with the Crown, the defense is expected to argue that its client is not criminally responsible.
Related News :