Blake Schreiner murder trial delayed again after social worker's testimony cut short

Blake Schreiner's first-degree murder trial was delayed yet again Friday, after a witness's testimony was cut short when she said she didn't have notes she needed in order to answer questions.

Schreiner, 39, is on trial at Court of Queen's Bench in Saskatoon, charged in the death of his partner, Tammy Brown.

She died Jan. 29, 2019, in the couple's River Heights home, after being stabbed 80 times.

Schreiner has not denied that he stabbed Brown, but has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge, arguing he did not know what he was doing the night of the killing and is not criminally responsible.

The trial has been plagued by delays, both inside and outside the courthouse.

The testimony of some witnesses went longer than expected, and a water main break in October shut down the courthouse for a day, creating a ripple effect.

Expert witnesses who had been tightly booked could not reschedule on short notice, and Justice Ron Mills has said he wants to hear expert witnesses without interruption.

Testimony scheduled for this week was cancelled by the snowstorm that hit Saskatoon.

Psychiatrist Mansfield Mela was set to appear Friday, but a personal health issue earlier in the week triggered his cancellation.

Instead, the prosecution called social worker Alma Mendes. She had taken notes at Saskatchewan Hospital during Schreiner's interviews with psychiatrists and psychologists.

Defence lawyer Brad Mitchell cross-examined Mendes about observations in her personal notes that apparently did not make it into the final reports. These included Schreiner talking about feeling anxious and paranoid, and hearing voices in the months leading to Brown's death.

Mendes no longer works at Saskatchewan Hospital and could not answer all the questions, because she could not refer to notes from a specific meeting. They are still at the psychiatric hospital.

It wasn't clear whether the hospital forwarded all the notes to the Crown and defence, or whether notes existed at all from the highlighted meeting.

She'll be back on the stand Nov. 30, at which point the status of the notes is expected to be resolved.