Man accused of killing ailing wife wasn't suffering from major depression, says expert
Final witness counters defence experts, says Michel Cadotte's drinking may have contributed to mood disorder
An expert witness for the Crown says Michel Cadotte, on trial for the second-degree murder of his wife Jocelyne Lizotte, 60, showed no evidence of major depression at the time his wife was killed.
Dr. Gilles Chamberland is the final witness to take the stand at 57-year-old Cadotte's trial.
The psychiatrist is countering defence experts who testified that Cadotte was suffering from depression on Feb. 20, 2017, the day Lizotte died.
Cadotte has described for the jury how he used a pillow to smother his wife, who had been living in a long-term care institution with advanced Alzheimer's disease.
Chamberland, who met with Cadotte last month, pointed to another factor behind the killing: heavy alcohol consumption the weekend before the slaying, which contributed to a secondary mood disorder.
Cadotte himself told the psychiatrist the killing might have been avoided had he not been drinking in the days before Lizotte's death.