Psychiatric evaluation ordered for suspect in Vancouver attacks
Nicholas Osuteye, 35, is facing 3 charges of attempted murder
An Alberta man who was arrested after three women were violently attacked in downtown Vancouver on Friday has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric assessment.
Nicholas Alexander Osuteye, 35, has been charged with three counts of attempted murder and one count each of assault and mischief.
Osuteye was arrested on Friday after three women — an 87-year-old, a 79-year-old and a 63-year-old — were attacked in a series of savage and apparently unprovoked assaults.
According to information filed in court on Monday, Osuteye allegedly attempted to kill the three women "by beating and kicking, and by stomping" on them.
Police have indicated the attacks appeared to be random and none of the victims knew Osuteye.
When he appeared in court on Monday Osuteye appeared subdued. The judge ordered him to undergo a 30-day psychiatric evaluation before his next court appearance on Jan. 9.
All three women remain in hospital, two in serious condition and one listed as stable. They have only been identified only by their initials in court documents.
Family friends in Edmonton described Osuteye as a pleasant university graduate who once worked in a library, but said he had been struggling with the recent death of his father and they were shocked to hear of his arrest.