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Global News
2 days ago
- Global News
N.S. man guilty of 1st-degree murder in shocking 2021 optometry store attack
A Nova Scotia man has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the shocking stabbing death of a man inside a downtown Halifax optometry office in 2021. In a decision handed down Thursday, a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge rejected 28-year-old Cymon Felix Cormier's defence that he was not criminally responsible on account of a mental disorder (NCRMD). 'The evidence is overwhelming that the accused intentionally, deliberately and after planning (did) commit the murder of Mr. Nader,' Justice Christa M. Brothers wrote in her decision. Tony Nader, 55, was an optometrist at Insight Optometry on Brunswick Street and had previously been in a relationship with Cormier's mother. On Dec. 30, 2021, Nader was working with a customer when Cormier came into the business. 'Without uttering any words to Mr. Nader, Cymon Cormier repeatedly stabbed Mr. Nader with a knife that he had brought with him,' the decision laid out. Story continues below advertisement 'After what can only be described as a frenzied attack, with Mr. Cormier relentlessly pursuing Mr. Nader throughout the optometry clinic, Mr. Cormier left Insight. Video surveillance footage shows him running, jogging and walking, while discarding clothing and other items he had with him.' Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Brothers said that during Cormier's trial, which began last fall, the court reviewed video surveillance, photographs and 'significant (online) search histories.' As well, the trial heard from medical experts, with the Crown and defence each calling a psychiatrist to the stand. 'Both highly qualified psychiatrists agree that Mr. Cormier was mentally ill, but disagree as to whether his mental illness met the standard set out at s. 16 of the Criminal Code (NCRMD),' Brothers wrote. Dr. Julian Gojer, who had been called by the defence, told the court he thought Cormier had 'delusions of persecution that people were conspiring to kill him and delusions of grandeur that he had special abilities,' the decision read. Cormier had alleged sexual and physical abuse by Nader and his mother. 'Dr. Gojer noted that 'the description of the sexual abuse does not add up and its emergence at the age of 19 years seems to indicate that the delusional thinking began at about that time and he retro-actively applied his beliefs as delusional memories,'' the decision added. Story continues below advertisement Cormier's brother testified he wasn't aware of any sexual abuse. He said that Nader had 'acted as a father figure' to them, 'taking on a parental role,' the decision noted. Evidence brought into trial included search and online histories on Cormier's electronic device. Terms such as 'Tony Nader,' 'Insight Optometry,' and websites on personality disorders and sexual abuse were found. On Dec. 1, 2021, the device searched 'insanity defence.' Brothers said Cormier's explanations for his actions 'become more elaborate over time' and concluded they were 'quite dubious.' 'All demonstrate that the accused had the specific intent for murder, committed the acts as charged and was not incapable of understanding the moral wrongfulness of his act,' the decision read. 'He was not deprived of his volition by any psychosis or delusion. In fact, much of the evidence calls into question his malingering, including his inconsistent reporting, search history, intoxication and amnesia claims.' The first-degree murder conviction comes with an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years. Cormier was also found guilty of assault causing bodily harm for hitting a customer at the store with the butt of the knife during the attack. He will be sentenced next month.
CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
Man found guilty in 2021 stabbing death of Halifax optician
In some of Tony Nader's final words before he collapsed and died following a horrific stabbing inside the Halifax optometry store where he worked, he asked someone he knew at the scene to tell his family, friends and co-workers that he loved them. On Thursday, more than two dozen of them were in Nova Scotia Supreme Court to hear a judge find the 28-year-old man accused of the 2021 killing guilty of first-degree murder, rejecting his defence that he was not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder. Cymon Felix Cormier looked at the floor, but showed little reaction as Justice Christa Brothers told him the decision, which means he faces an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years. "I find that Mr. Cormier was in full control of his faculties when he repeatedly stabbed Mr. Nader," the judge said in a written decision. "Mr. Cormier was a deliberate, wilful and conscious actor, who planned an attack to kill Mr. Nader or cause bodily harm he knew would likely kill him." On Dec. 30, 2021, Cormier pushed his way into Insight Optometry, which at the time was screening customers as part of COVID-19 protocols, and pursued Nader around the store, stabbing him. Cormier ran from the scene, but was arrested nearby. During the trial, which began last fall and lasted more than 15 days, the court heard that Cormier had come to believe Nader had sexually abused him as a child, when Nader and his mother had been in a relationship. There was no evidence brought to court, however, that suggested the allegations were true. Cormier's brother testified Nader was like a father figure for the brothers during the time he lived with the family. Cormier had long struggled with his mental health. A forensic psychiatrist who testified for the defence told the court Cormier had developed "systemized delusions" that Nader was a pedophile who was part of a sex cult, and that people were covering it up. Cormier had told the psychiatrist that God commands him to do things, that he is on a special mission to bring justice to society, that he gets messages through the radio and that doctors have tried to kill or punish him. But Brothers concluded Cormier was in fact malingering. He was not suffering from schizophrenia, she said, but instead from a major depressive disorder, and that it did not make him incapable of knowing that his attack on Nader was wrong. 'Tony Nader was a much-loved individual' Nader, 55, was a husband and father of two children, and was known both as an optician who was dedicated to his patients as well as a talented musician. Prosecutor Scott Morrison said outside the courtroom the judge thoroughly examined the evidence and correctly applied the law, and he believes she came to the right decision. He said Nader's family is generally happy with the result. "It's obvious that this has had a profound impact on their life and that Tony Nader was a much-loved individual," he said. "But I think for some people it might bring them a measure of closure." In her ruling, Brothers pointed to internet searches Cormier made before the stabbing, how he appeared "goal-oriented" in planning and attacking Nader, and that no witnesses, including police officers, described him behaving in a psychotic way. The internet searches in the months leading up to the stabbing included "I think I was sexually abuse but can't remember," "feelings of revenge," and "insanity defence." Brothers said the evidence of the defence expert, Dr. Julian Gojer, who concluded Cormier was likely not criminally responsible, "falls significantly short" of what is required. She said the psychiatrist's "unvarnished acceptance" of Cormier's statements was "problematic." Sentencing in late July She noted that after Gojer was shown the internet searches during cross-examination in court, he said he was now "on the fence" about whether Cormier was criminally responsible. In the opinion of Dr. Joel Watts, an expert for the prosecution, Cormier had embellished his psychotic symptoms and his claims of amnesia in relation to the attack, according to the judge, who called his testimony "clear, compelling and rooted in evidence." The judge also found Cormier guilty of assault causing bodily harm for hitting an Insight customer with the butt of the knife during the attack. Cormier will be formally sentenced for murder and assault at a court hearing at the end of July where family members will be given the opportunity to read victim impact statements.
CTV News
3 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Man found guilty of murdering Halifax optician in December 2021
Police say Cymon Felix Cormier entered the business and attacked a staff member, identified by police as 55-year-old Tony Nader. A man has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of a Halifax optician in December 2021. Justice Christa Brothers delivered the verdict Thursday morning, telling the court she found the fatal stabbing of 55-year-old Tony Nader to be planned and deliberate. She did not accept the defence's argument that the accused, Cymon Felix Cormier, was not criminally responsible. Nader was stabbed while at his workplace, Insight Optometry, on Brunswick Street the morning of Dec. 30, 2021. Another man was inside the business and tried to intervene. He too was attacked and sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Nader later died in hospital from his stab wounds. Cormier was arrested a short time later and charged with first-degree murder in Nader's death. He was also charged with aggravated assault for injuring the man who intervened. Cormier was found guilty Thursday of the lesser charge of assault causing bodily harm for attacking that man. More to come… For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
