2 days ago
Jury begins deliberations in case of Calgary man accused of torturing and killing multiple rabbits
The fate of suspected Calgary serial rabbit killer Nicholas Weseen is now in the hands of jurors — at least for now.
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The 12-member Calgary Court of King's Bench jury began their deliberations Friday afternoon after hearing final legal instructions from Justice Michel Bourque.
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But if they find Weseen guilty on any of the 13 animal abuse charges Crown prosecutor Rose Greenwood is seeking convictions on, his lawyer will likely ask for an assessment of his client.
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Defence counsel Eric Nelson-Addy told Bourque earlier this week he will seek psychiatric testing on his client to determine if he qualifies for a defence of not criminally responsible by reason of a mental disorder.
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'There are reasonable grounds for such an assessment,' Nelson-Addy told the judge during proceedings in the absence of the jury.
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Under the Criminal Code, portions of a court proceeding conducted in the absence of jurors are subject to a publication ban until they retire to deliberate the case.
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Nelson-Addy said both his client's interview with Calgary police Det. Mark Weir and evidence from Weseen's former girlfriend Amy Miko, raised concerns about his client's mental health.
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During his Jan. 22, 2023, police interview Weseen told Weir that when the rabbits were being harmed and killed it felt like someone else took over his body.
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'It literally feels like there's a second person in control,' the city man said.
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But in her closing arguments to jurors on Thursday, Greenwood asked jurors to ignore what she referred to as a 'charade' by Weseen to justify his unlawful behaviour by blaming the abuse on his alter ego.
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Nelson-Addy had argued for an outright acquittal saying the Crown had failed to prove its case against Weseen beyond a reasonable doubt.
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The assessment, if ordered by Bourque, would look into whether Weseen was suffering a mental disorder at the time which rendered him incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of his actions and that what he was doing was wrong.
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