Child killer Turcotte 'ideal candidate' for release
Quebecer seeks freedom after found not responsible for deaths of 2 kids
The mental health review hearing for a former Quebec cardiologist found not criminally responsible for killing his two children resumed with testimony from a psychiatrist, who said Guy Turcotte poses no danger to the public.
Dr. Louis Morissette told the board of Montreal's Pinel Institute on Thursday that Turcotte no longer shows any signs of mental illness.
Turcotte is appealing for release, less than a year after he was found not responsible in the deaths and sent to the facility.
He admitted he stabbed his children, Anne-Sophie, 3, and Olivier, 5, in February 2009 in a rented home north of Montreal,
The 39-year-old physician was charged with first-degree murder, but denied intent, claiming he was deeply distraught about the collapse of his marriage.
In 2011, a jury decided Turcotte was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the killings.
While the hearing unfolded inside the Pinel Institute on Thursday, Turcotte's ex-wife, Isabelle Gaston, stood outside flanked by dozens of supporters who oppose his release.
"No one is going to make me believe that he is not dangerous," Gaston said, as she went over the evidence emerging from the hearing.
"He was depressed during the preliminary inquiry, he was depressed during his trial, and then, miraculously, after his verdict, my goodness, he doesn't need his antidepressants anymore? He's functional? He's happy, he's got goals, he wants kids, he wants a new girlfriend?"
"I'm tired that no one sees that he is a chameleon, he changes his tune according to the situation."
Mental health board review takes months
Hearings at the institute began last fall to determine whether Turcotte should be freed.
In November, a psychiatrist from the institute who examined Turcotte said he should be detained for at least another year for treatment.
Turcotte told the board earlier this year that he wants therapy and eventually wants to return to practising medicine.
On Thursday, the hearing continued, with two psychiatrists scheduled to speak on his behalf.
Morissette told the board that man who killed his two children in 2009 and the man at today's hearing are like two different people.
He said if Turcotte were released, he would be willing to follow him as his attending physician.
This phase of Turcotte’s hearing is scheduled to wrap up Friday.
The board can take up to 90 days to render its decision after the hearing concludes.