U.K. psychiatrist's YouTube advice around murder confessions questioned during serial killer trial
Dr. Sohom Das allowed to testify on Jeremy Skibicki's mental state despite videos judge called 'not judicious'
WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
A forensic psychiatrist who assessed the mental state of an admitted Winnipeg serial killer now arguing he's not criminally responsible previously appeared in YouTube videos advising people not to confess if they murdered someone and outlining a list of ways to fake having a mental illness.
Those details emerged during an hours-long hearing to determine whether the testimony of Dr. Sohom Das could be used as expert evidence for the defence in the trial of Jeremy Skibicki, who has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the deaths of four women over two months in 2022.
Das's conduct in his YouTube videos drew criticism from Court of King's Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal during the judge-alone trial on Monday, who described the videos as "not judicious," "self-promotional" and "potentially compromising of his credibility."
"This is a case where we have a witness in question who, in my view, can be seen to have conducted himself in a way that brings into question his professionalism," Joyal said during a brief ruling Monday afternoon, where he ultimately allowed Das to be qualified by the court as an expert.
However, the judge said the concerns he raised will be revisited later in the trial, as the court determines how much weight to give the U.K.-based psychiatrist's opinion.
Snippets from several videos on Das's YouTube page were played in court during prosecutors' cross-examination, including one titled "Why Do Murderers CONFESS?" that shows Das telling his viewers: "Absolutely do not kill anybody. But if you do, don't tell anybody."
WATCH | Psychiatrist's YouTube video played in court:
In another video listed as part of a series on faking mental illness, Das explains a number of methods he uses and discrepancies he watches for to determine whether someone is lying about having a mental disorder.
"I've just realized that I've kind of given away cheat codes for faking mental illness. Oh well," he says at one point, shrugging.
Skibicki has pleaded not guilty in the deaths of three First Nations women — Rebecca Contois, 24, Morgan Harris, 39, and Marcedes Myran, 26 — and an unidentified woman community leaders have given the name Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, who police have said they believe was an Indigenous woman in her 20s.
Prosecutors have alleged that Skibicki, now 37, preyed on vulnerable Indigenous women at Winnipeg homeless shelters before killing four in 2022 and throwing their remains in the garbage.
He was charged after unexpectedly confessing to the killings during a police interview, following the discovery of Contois's remains in garbage bins near his apartment.
Skibicki's defence is expected to argue that he should be found not criminally responsible in the women's deaths due to a mental disorder.
Psychiatrist admits to being 'duped' during assessment
In another of Das's YouTube videos that prosecutors said has since been taken down, the psychiatrist explained different ways that people might fake symptoms of mental illness — which he testified was intended to be "tongue-in-cheek" and for educational purposes.
"You did a tongue-in-cheek YouTube video to show people how to fake mental illness? And you thought that was a good idea?" Crown attorney Christian Vanderhooft asked him.
"You have no idea who watched these videos…. Criminals can watch YouTube, right? People who might have killed people can watch YouTube and then realize how it is that they can fake mental illness."
Vanderhooft noted Das also admitted in one of his videos to having been "duped" himself by a patient he assessed, which the psychiatrist agreed with.
Court heard Das assessed Skibicki twice: once in September 2022, and again in April 2024. Each time, he spent about an hour and a half with the accused.
While Das has not yet shared his findings in court, the psychiatrist said during cross-examination that when he was hired by the defence to assess Skibicki, he was told the accused had a diagnosis of chronic schizophrenia that appeared to have been left untreated.
The psychiatrist also agreed with a suggestion from prosecutors that any expert in a criminal case should be objective — but in another YouTube video shown in court, he commented that experts in most cases he's seen tend to lean toward diagnoses favourable to the side that enlisted them.
"Generally speaking, the defence leans towards the defence, so they're quite sympathetic psychiatrically in terms of the diagnoses," he says in one video.
"And this is basically because there's a fault in the system, in my view. There are cowboy experts and because they get money, they get fame, they get attention … they become sort of mini-celebrities in their own way.
"So they want to kind of keep that going, so they know that they'll get re-instructed, they'll get more cases if they lean a certain way."
Chief Justice Joyal also questioned the psychiatrist about a phrase that prosecutors noted he repeats in his videos — to "always be plugging" or promoting his various YouTube videos within each other.
"Do you think acting the way you do in YouTube videos that we just saw — do you think that doing what you're doing and 'always plugging' is professional behaviour for a psychiatrist?" Joyal asked him — to which Das said he didn't think the video was unprofessional.
Court heard Das has experience conducting mental health assessments for various reasons, though his recent practice is mostly in civil court.
He said he's done the equivalent of a not criminally responsible assessment in the U.K. about 20 to 30 times, and testified in about four or five of those cases. But his involvement in Skibicki's trial is the first time he's testified in a Canadian court.
Court heard the Crown also had their own expert assess Skibicki's mental state, who is expected to testify following Das.
Das is expected to testify about his assessment of Skibicki on Tuesday.
The trial resumed Monday after pausing following the conclusion of the Crown's case on May 22. It began hearing evidence on May 8.
Support is available for anyone affected by these reports and the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous people. Immediate emotional assistance and crisis support are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through a national hotline at 1-844-413-6649.
You can also access, through the government of Canada, health support services such as mental health counselling, community-based support and cultural services, and some travel costs to see elders and traditional healers. Family members seeking information about a missing or murdered loved one can access Family Information Liaison Units.
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