Latest news with #EmilySanche
CBC
28-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Judge hears closing arguments in Saskatoon trial of man who stabbed partner to death
The case against accused murderer Thomas Hamp is closed and it's now up to a Court of King's Bench judge to decide which interpretation of events to agree with. Prosecutor Cory Bliss and defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle made final arguments Wednesday before Justice Grant Currie at the 28-year-old's judge-alone second-degree murder trial. The issue is not whether Hamp fatally stabbed his partner Emily Sanche on Feb. 20, 2022 — he admitted that at trial. Rather, the defence contends Hamp was in a mental health crisis that left him incapable of knowing that what he was doing was wrong. "There's only one explanation for why Thomas Hamp would have done this to Emily Sanche and it's he was suffering from an acute psychotic episode where he was not in touch with reality," Pfefferle said. The Crown is suggesting that Hamp was in a drug-induced psychosis when he killed Sanche and then claimed an intruder had stabbed her and tried to kill him. "From our perspective, it's very unusual that someone would commit a crime while deluded and then immediately suggest that someone else committed the crime," Bliss said. Both Bliss and Pfefferle relied, to varying degrees, on a 25-page assessment done by forensic psychiatrist Shabehram Lohrasbe. The veteran doctor was hired by the defence. Lohrasbe concluded in his report, based on five hours of interviews with Hamp and a review of notes kept by Sanche and her cousin Catherine, that Hamp "was acutely and severely psychotic" when he killed Sanche in their apartment. "Psychosis was the dominant factor that drove his violence," Lohrasbe wrote. "It is likely that his capacity to 'know' that his actions were wrong, in the real world, was severely impaired." While testifying by video, Lohrasbe said he could not overstate the importance of the notes kept by Emily Sanche and her cousin. Pfefferle noted in his close that "her real time overview was not marred by memory, delusion, distortion or inaccuracy." "The detailed notes and text messages that Emily and her cousin Catherine compiled, described by Dr. Lohrasbe as 'incredibly important documents' are rare in their depth and immediacy." he said. "Dr. Lohrasbe, a psychiatrist with over four decades of experience and thousands of assessments to his name, testified that he had 'never seen anything like it.' Emily's text message chain, he testified was 'poignant, and so close to the offence' that it offered unparalleled insight into the rapid deterioration of Thomas's mental state." Bliss offered a different take on the impact of Sanche's detailed record. He suggested that a list compiled by the 25-year-old in her journal in the days before her death, which referenced the need for a mental health warrant and the necessity of seeing a doctor, actually provided the motive for the attack. Hamp, already in a drug-induced psychosis because of his sustained cannabis use, would have seen the list as evidence Sanche was going to force medical treatment and planning on leaving him, Bliss argued. This threat of a partner pulling away is often a trigger for violence in intimate partner cases, he said. Bliss referenced how Lohrasbe was generally concerned about the impact of high-potency cannabis on a user's mental health. The doctor agreed that symptoms from drug-induced psychosis could look like mental illness. "I think there is a real concern for the public that people that choose to take psychoactive drugs, and they lose touch with reality because of that, those people should be responsible for their crimes," Bliss said outside court after the day's proceedings were done.
CTV News
28-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Psychiatrist: Hamp was ‘acutely and severely psychotic' the night he killed his girlfriend
A forensic psychiatrist who assessed Thomas Hamp after fatally stabbed his girlfriend said he was 'acutely and severely psychotic' the night of the attack. Dr. Shabehram Lohrasbe testified and provided Court of King's Bench a 25-page psychiatric assessment Monday, where he said obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia spectrum disorder and cannabis use disorder were all 'relevant' to Hamp's psychosis but said he couldn't tell how much which of the three contributed. Hamp is accused of second-degree murder in the death of Emily Sanche on Feb. 20, 2022. Hamp does not deny killing Sanche. His defence lawyer is arguing he is not criminally responsible because he was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the attack. Lohrasbe told the court Hamp 'was out of touch with objective reality' when he stabbed Sanche. 'I think the information I have suggests that mental disorder was the primary factor,' Lohrasbe said. Lohrasbe was hired by the defence to conduct his assessment, which took place over two in-person meetings and one virtual meeting. With roughly 40 years of experience and hundreds of testimonies in court, Lohrasbe said he had never seen anything like the detailed notes and documentation he also pored over as part of his assessment. Sanche was studying to obtain her master's degree in counselling and kept detailed notes of Hamp's condition in the weeks leading up to the attack. Emily Sanche - Thomas Hamp Emily Sanche (Source: Dignity Memorial) The court learned during previous testimony that Sanche's cousin Catherine also compiled a detailed list of notes using text messages exchanged with Sanche. 'I have rarely seen something so poignant and so close to the tragic events in question,' Lohrasbe said. Hamp believed he and Sanche were the targets of a secret police, that he was surrounded by pedophiles and his medication would brainwash and chemically castrate him. The trial originally began in September 2024, but had to be adjourned because of letters Hamp wrote to his parents while in jail. These letters weren't turned over to police or the court until shortly before the trial began, and Lohrasbe needed to review his assessment before testifying. A previous batch of letters was used in evidence in the trial, where Hamp wrote he believed his paranoia and ensuing psychosis were caused by the weed he was smoking. Hamp previously told the court he quit smoking weed two days before the attack after Sanche believed it was contributing to his delusions and asked him to stop. On Monday, Lohrasbe testified cannabis use and schizophrenia can heighten a mental disorder. On the night of the attack, Lohrasbe said Hamp's 'moral compass was hijacked by his psychotic episode' and the idea of killing Sanche came abruptly. According to Lohrasbe's testimony, Hamp believed he needed to kill Sanche and himself to avoid a worse fate. Hamp believed Sanche would be made to breed and tortured to death. Hamp stabbed himself and recovered in hospital. The trial continues Tuesday with the Crown cross-examining Lohrasbe.
CBC
27-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Crown quizzes psychiatrist in Saskatoon murder trial about potential motive, impact of potent cannabis
Social Sharing The Crown in the Thomas Hamp murder trial in Saskatoon is suggesting the 28-year-old was in a drug-induced psychosis when he killed his partner Emily Sanche three years ago. Prosecutor Cory Bliss raised the theory while cross-examining defence witness Shabehram Lohrasbe, a forensic psychiatrist who did an assessment on Hamp, who is charged with second-degree murder and on trial at Court of King's Bench before Justice Grant Currie. Lohrasbe did not disagree with Bliss, noting "this reality poses a dilemma." "There is the possibility this is all the result of cannabis, but we won't know." Lohrasbe concluded in his report, based on five hours of interviews with Hamp and a review of notes kept by Sanche and her cousin, that Hamp "was acutely and severely psychotic" when he fatally stabbed the 25-year-old in their apartment on Feb. 20, 2022. "Psychosis was the dominant factor that drove his violence," Lohrasbe wrote in his 25-page assessment. "It is likely that his capacity to 'know' that his actions were wrong, in the real world, was severely impaired." In the report, Lohrasbe said his conclusion acknowledged that Hamp's severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and cannabis use disorder both could have contributed to the psychotic episode. But he said the degree to which they influenced what happened could never be known. Bliss quizzed Lohrasbe on the general impact of today's high-potency cannabis on mental health. The B.C. doctor has practised psychiatry for four decades and said cannabis potency today is a far cry from the "hippie pot" he encountered at the start of his career. Lohrasbe said that, because of this potency, a drug-induced psychosis from cannabis could look like mental illness. Bliss said this has significant implications in this case, because a psychotic break caused by substances changes whether an accused is criminally responsible. Lohrasbe added that the detailed notes and text messages written by Sanche, who was studying for a master's degree in counselling and expressed concerns about her partner's deteriorating mental health in the year before he killed her, and notes take by Sanche's cousin, Catherine, are "incredibly important documents" because of the objective insights they provide into his behaviour. Bliss questioned whether it's possible that Sanche's notes detailing how Hamp needed professional help could have provided a motive for the attack. Hamp was supposed to go to the hospital the day he killed Sanche and Bliss suggested that he could have seen this as Sanche pulling back in the relationship and abandoning him. "I get your point," Lohrasbe replied. "But that's been ongoing [the notes] and I fail to see how that translates into abandoning him." Hamp originally told a neighbour and police that a man had broken into the third-floor apartment and attacked the couple. He recanted that later, saying that he stabbed Sanche and then himself. Bliss suggested that Hamp concocted the intruder story and then stabbed himself to support the alibi. Lohrasbe said that was possible, "but we'll never know." The defence closed its case after Lohrasbe's testimony. Bliss then successfully applied to recall Hamp to question him on the contents of the assessment. He asked Hamp about the impact of his cannabis use, in reference to a letter he wrote. While in custody after Sanche's death, Hamp wrote a letter to Emily's cousin, Catherine. In the letter, entered as an exhibit, he speaks about his escalating paranoia in the fall of 2021. "I did not believe it at the time, but I now think this paranoia and ensuing psychosis were caused by the weed I was smoking," he wrote. Lohrasbe had testified that the independent documentation of his deteriorating mental health from Emily and Catherine Sanche is so important because when people are psychotic, their mental landscape is rapidly evolving.
CBC
26-05-2025
- CBC
Saskatoon man who stabbed partner to death deemed 'acutely and severely psychotic' by psychiatrist
A forensic psychiatrist who assessed accused killer Thomas Hamp said the 25-year-old "was acutely and severely psychotic" when he fatally stabbed his girlfriend Emily Sanche on Feb. 20, 2022. Hamp is charged with second-degree murder.
CBC
26-05-2025
- CBC
Psychiatric report says Saskatoon man 'acutely and severely psychotic' when he fatally stabbed partner in 2022
A forensic psychiatrist who assessed accused killer Thomas Hamp said the 25-year-old "was acutely and severely psychotic" when he fatally stabbed his girlfriend Emily Sanche on Feb. 20, 2022. "Psychosis was the dominant factor that drove his violence," Shabehram Lohrasbe wrote in a 25-page assessment. "It is likely that his capacity to "know" that his actions were wrong, in the real world, was severely impaired." Hamp was charged with second-degree murder and is appearing before Justice Grant Currie in a judge-alone trial at Saskatoon Court of King's Bench. Defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle is not disputing that Hamp stabbed his partner. The point of contention between Pfefferle and prosecutor Cory Bliss is whether Hamp is criminally responsible for his actions. Treatment trail The defence hired Lohrasbe to do a psychiatric assessment. Lohrasbe testified that he met with Hamp twice in person and then again by video, for a total of five hours. He also interviewed Hamp's parents and reviewed reports from his clinical treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). He also reviewed detailed notes and text messages written by Sanche, who was studying for a master's degree in counselling and expressed concerns about her partner's deteriorating mental health in the year before he killed her. Lohrasbe also reviewed notes take by Sanche's cousin, Catherine. The notes included observations Emily made hours before her death, after the couple contacted the Saskatoon Crisis Intervention Service. Hamp was supposed to go to the hospital the day that he killed her. "He seemed extremely agitated and upset," she wrote. Lohrasbe said he's done thousands of assessments over his four-decade career and that the written records from the two young women "are incredibly important documents." He said Emily's text message chain "is poignant, and so close to the offence." "I've never seen anything like it." In his analysis, Lohrasbe said Hamp's worsening OCD symptoms and heavy cannabis use almost surely played a role in the psychotic episode, but "their precise potential roles cannot be delineated." Day of the killing Lohrasbe said Hamp was in the full throes of a psychotic episode the day he killed Emily Sanche. Hamp believed that the couple were under police surveillance and that friends and family were pedophiles, Lohrasbe said. He was suspicious of medical professionals, fearing that he would be castrated if he went to the hospital. "In some way the fear of going to hospital was intertwined with his fears of the police, surveillance, Tetris, technology, pedophilia, doctors, toxic medications, and the castration," Lohrasbe wrote. Hamp said he was obsessed with video game Tetris because he believed it was being used to test him and as a spying device. "The idea of killing Ms. Sanche and then himself came to him abruptly; 'I thought we both had to die to avoid a worse fate,'" the report said. "The 'worse fate' that awaited Ms. Sanche was, 'that Emily would be made to breed and then tortured to death.' He believed that Ms. Sanche was a target for 'their breeding because she came from a smart family.'" Lohrasbe concluded that the psychiatric assessment "would support the legal consideration for finding Mr. Hamp not criminally responsible."
