Latest news with #DrShabehramLohrasbe
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
17-05-2025
- CBC
Dangerous offender gets 10 years instead of indefinite sentence, N.W.T. Supreme Court rules
Social Sharing A Northwest Territories Supreme Court justice has re-sentenced a Nunavut man convicted for a 2012 sexual assault. Noel Avadluk was declared a dangerous offender in 2017 and was handed an indefinite prison sentence. He appealed that sentence and won. Both Avadluk's lawyer and the Crown prosecutor recommended a sentence of 10 years custody followed by 10 years of supervision in the community. On Friday, Justice Louise Charbonneau agreed that was appropriate. Avadluk has been in prison since his original sentencing for what the judge described as a "sudden, brutal and sustained" sexual assault. It happened in Yellowknife and was his second sexual assault conviction. Now 52 years old, Avadluk of Kugluktuk, Nunavut, has a total of 43 criminal convictions. Avadluk attended Friday's sentencing by video from the Bath Institution, a prison near Kingston, Ontario. With time already served on his 10-year sentence, Avadluk will stay in prison for just over two more years. He will then remain under supervision, which is similar to probation, until August 2037. Justice Charbonneau said her decision was partly based on a new psychiatric assessment by Dr. Shabehram Lohrasbe, who concluded Avadluk's risk of harming others is manageable. Lohrasbe said this could be possible with abstinence from alcohol and Avadluk's co-operation. That contradicts a previous assessment that found Avadluk's risk to the public would not decrease with age. Charbonneau called Lohrasbe's report "thorough" and "fair." She said it is the most recent report of Avadluk's assessment and should be given more weight. Avadluk will be in his 60s when the supervision order ends in 2037. Charbonneau warned him any breaches could lead to to another 10 years in prison. Charbonneau said Friday's decision constituted an appropriate sentence, and also referenced to an earlier Court of Appeal decision where the court identified problems with Avadluk's initial sentencing in light of a subsequent decision by the Supreme Court of Canada. During sentencing of dangerous offenders, it emphasized the judge must also take into account other factors, such as the offender's moral blameworthiness, and impose the least restrictive sentence required to protect the public. The judge also recommended the correctional service and parole board use Lohrasbe's report as a resource for managing Avadluk's risk of re-offending and guiding his reintegration in a way that keeps the public safe.
