Latest news with #Sanche
Global News
28-05-2025
- Global News
Closing arguments in Thomas Hamp's murder trial wrap up Wednesday
Both the defence and the Crown gave their closing arguments on whether Thomas Hamp should be considered not criminally responsible for the death of his girlfriend, Emily Sanche. The defence's submission was to find Hamp not criminally responsible, while the Crown wants the court to consider all the possibilities for Hamp's violent attack. Hamp is charged with fatally stabbing Sanche on Feb. 20th, 2022. Hamp admitted to stabbing her earlier in the trial. We also learned that Sanche deeply documented Hamp's path of psychosis and lobbied for his care. It was determined Hamp suffered from OCD, cannabis use disorder and was on the realm of schizophrenia spectrum. Hamp said his delusions ramped up in weeks before the attack. Story continues below advertisement He thought the secret police were coming to take him and Sanche away to 'torture and murder them.' Defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle said Sanche was loved by all, including Hamp. 'There would be absolutely no reason why any sane person would do anything to harm her, and our position is that frankly no sane person would harm her,' said Pfefferle. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Pfefferle said the report by psychiatrist Dr. Shabehram Lohrasbe, which found Hamp was acutely psychotic that morning, indicated Hamp's ability to know his actions were wrong was impaired. He also noted Hamp has an 'undisputable mental disorder' that was a 'longstanding' issue. 'This is a person that has absolutely no record or history of violence, his delusions were getting more and more bizarre,' said Pfefferle. The Crown says the defence's argument falls on whether he knew it was right or wrong. Cory Bliss, senior Crown prosecutor, points to Hamp's diagnosis of cannabis use disorder, noting a cannabis-induced psychosis is different from a mental health one. We know Hamp stopped taking weed days before the incident, but not the exact date. The Crown also pointing to the fact that even Lohrasbe was concerned about Hamp's initial attempt to claim someone broke into their house and stabbed them both, which he later retracted. Story continues below advertisement 'It's very unusual that someone would commit a crime while deluded and then immediately suggest that someone else committed the crime,' said Bliss. Bliss said it's unusual for someone who was having delusions that the secret police was after them would calm down at the sight of police following the incident. Hamp didn't bring up his delusions about the secret police or torture at the scene or hospital. Bliss questions why Hamp, who was thinking of committing a murder suicide, didn't go through with killing himself. He also wants the court to consider if there were triggers leading to Hamp's violence. Hamp had heard a phone call between Sanche and his parents about taking him to the hospital. There was also a notebook found where Sanche had written out steps for getting help. 'That he was angered by her decision to basically take the choice out of his hands and force him to receive psychiatric help,' said Bliss. Bliss wondered why Sanche had never written about the secret police delusions Hamp claimed to have. Due to the complex case, the court is not able to make a decision this week. Story continues below advertisement The verdict is set to come down in July.
Global News
27-05-2025
- Global News
Psychiatric report finds Thomas Hamp was ‘acutely and severely psychotic' during stabbing
The Crown called Thomas Hamp, the man facing second-degree murder in the death of his longtime girlfriend Emily Sanche in February 2022, back to the stand this week following a mental health report on whether Hamp would be considered not criminally responsible for killing Sanche. On Monday, the court heard criminal psychiatrist Dr. Shabehram Lohrasbe's report that found Hamp not criminally responsible under S. 16 of the Criminal Code. On Tuesday, the Crown called Hamp to return to the stand for cross-examination. In the report obtained by Global News, Dr. Lohrasbe found Hamp was 'acutely and severely psychotic during the early morning hours of 20 February 2022.' His findings also included that Hamp 'has a history of OCD and of Cannabis Use Disorder, each of which, independently, has been associated with the subsequent diagnosis of a psychotic disorder.' And during 2021 through until 2022 'Hamp suffered from psychotic symptoms that are within the realm of the Schizophrenia spectrum of disorders.' Story continues below advertisement Lohrasbe believed Psychosis was the dominant factor in the violence and that 'his capacity to 'know' that his actions were wrong, in the real world, was severely impaired.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Lohrasbe said this was a unique case as the mental state of Hamp was deeply documented by Sanche and her cousin Cathrine Sanche leading up to the incident. Lohrasbe interviewed Hamp three times and used court documents and those from an assessment at the Saskatchewan hospital forensic services in North Battleford for the report. The Crown requested Hamp be brought back to the stand to speak on the report and Lohrasbe's testimony. However, the defence requested Hamp only get questioned on the report. The court granted the request for Hamp to take the stand, noting the Crown was unable to previously complete cross-examination due to the report not being available until a later date. But the court did agree the questioning should only be on the report and not the testimony. Hamp was questioned on his cannabis use before the incident and when the thought of killing Sanche came into his head. Hamp told the court he stopped using cannabis days before. He also said he couldn't remember when the thought of killing Sanche came into his head, but remembers the thought being there. Story continues below advertisement Closing arguments are scheduled for Wednesday. Hamp is charged with fatally stabbing Sanche in the early morning of Feb. 20, 2022. The court heard through a statement of agreed facts that Hamp grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed Sance in the upper left chest area. Hamp then went to the bedroom and injured himself with a knife. When police arrived Hamp told them a stranger had broken into their apartment, stabbing them both. He later recanted his statement.
