Crown says evidence revealed in Raymond trial negates not-criminally-responsible defence

In its final wrap-up of the case against the man who shot and killed four Fredericton residents, the Crown says Matthew Raymond was delusional, but not delusional enough to not know what he was doing, or that it was wrong.

Raymond, 50, has admitted to shooting and killing Donnie Robichaud and Bobbie Lee Wright from his apartment at 237 Brookside Dr., then Fredericton constables Sara Burns and Robb Costello when they responded to calls of shots fired on Aug. 10, 2018.

Raymond has pleaded not guilty, and his defence team is arguing he was not criminally responsible for the shooting on account of a mental illness. Two psychiatrists testified they diagnosed Raymond with schizophrenia, and Raymond himself testified he believed he was shooting demons coming to kill him after he became convinced the end times had come.

In her closing statement Monday, Crown prosecutor Darlene Blunston said the Crown believes Raymond's delusions "were not of such intensity at that time that it prevented him from consciously choosing not to shoot," and they weren't so intense that he didn't know what he was doing was wrong. 

She backed up this argument with five reasons: First, the location of injuries speak to the intent, she said. The court heard he shot multiple people in the head and chest.

Second, Raymond knew at least one of the victims he shot "which speaks to a level of awareness," Blunston said. Raymond testified he didn't know any of the victims, but psychiatrist Dr. Julian Gojer testified Raymond identified one of the victims as a biker on more than one occasion. 

Third, Raymond said he shot at everything that moved that morning, but he did not shoot  two people standing by Robichaud's body — and he couldn't explain why.

Fourth, Raymond asked for a lawyer, relying on the information provided by Cst. Debbie Stafford, who read him his rights after he was arrested. "It's not consistent with believing that she's a demon," Blunston said.

And finally, his delusions "were not readily apparent to any of the nursing staff or noted in any of the medical record," Blunston said, except for one hallucination which was treated with a "minor" dose of the antispsychotic drug Haldol.

Blunston also said Raymond's conduct during police interrogation "speaks for itself." In the video he refused to answer questions about the shooting and asked for his lawyer multiple times.

"It's clear from this video that Mr. Raymond was able to communicate," Blunston said. "Using your common sense, ask yourselves, why did he wake up and immediately ask to call a lawyer? And why did he rely on the information provided to him by Cst. Debbie Stafford?"

She said he didn't mention demons until Oct. 6, 2020, and never mentioned demons or serpents to multiple psychiatrists, nurses and officers in the two years he was in custody before that.

Both sides used a slideshow to present their final arguments. There were more people than usual in the gallery Monday, including Donnie Robichaud's sister, Robb Costello's spouse and mother, and Sara Burns's family members.

Demons or humans?

The Crown arguments followed the final remarks of the defence, which took all of Monday morning and part of the afternoon.

Raymond's defence lawyer condensed the nine-week trial to one question: Did Raymond believe he was shooting demons, or humans?

If the jury answers "demons," said defence lawyer Nathan Gorham, then they should find Raymond not criminally responsible.

Gorham painted for the jury an image of a man who became delusional and fixated on demons in the year leading up to the shooting. He reviewed the evidence the jury saw, including screenshots of Raymond's calculations with occult numbers, and videos of him believing someone had broken into his apartment and suggesting Microsoft was interfering with his computer.

Gorham said the defence evidence shows a "clear descent from mental health, deep into a mental disorder." He said Raymond was "spiralling and spiralling and spiralling," until August 2018.

For two decades, Raymond was working and had no criminal record and was "empathetic."

"Wouldn't hurt a fly," Gorham said.

In 2017, there was a change in Raymond, Gorham said. He became isolated and began becoming delusional. Gorham suggested three categories of delusions: that the end times were nearing and there would be a battle between demons and Christians, that demons controlled the world, and "God the Father" was guiding Raymond by giving him special powers to identify those demons.

'Legal gymnastics'

Gorham explained to the jurors that they'll have to do "legal gymnastics" when making their decision. First they have to decide whether Raymond was, more likely than not, not criminally responsible. If they decide that he is responsible, they have to decide whether the Crown has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Raymond intended to kill human beings.

Gorham said that's a "formidable" task on the Crown's end, because there's no explanation for why Raymond woke up one morning and decided to kill people.

In her own arguments, Blunston said she believes the Crown has met its burden.

Gorham told the jury they're going to be asked not to consider the consequences of their verdict, but if they find Raymond not criminally responsible, he will be detained in a secured hospital and he will stay there until a Review Board finds he is no longer a threat to the public.

The 11 jurors are expected to start deliberating once Justice Larry Landry gives them instructions Tuesday.

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