A Court of Queen’s Bench justice will spend the next two months deciding whether Jeffrey McCaig is guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Kevin Hallock or not criminally responsible for his actions.
The Honourable Madam Justice C. L. Dawson heard arguments from the Crown and defence at Moose Jaw Court of Queen’s Bench recently about the outcome McCaig should receive.
The justice said that if she finds McCaig, 30, not criminally responsible, she will declare him not guilty. Or, she could declare him guilty of manslaughter if she believes there is reasonable doubt about the second-degree murder charge.
“This is a challenging case,” Dawson said, but felt confident about reaching a decision with the trial transcripts and would return March 23.
Based on previous information, Moose Jaw police responded to a call around 10 p.m. on Nov. 10, 2019, on the 400 block of Stadacona Street East. Upon arrival, police found a man — Hallock — who had been stabbed. He was taken to the Dr. F.H. Wigmore Regional Hospital and pronounced dead.
Police later took a suspect — McCaig — into custody in connection with the incident and charged him with second-degree murder and other offences.
Defence submissions
While this case rests upon McCaig’s mental capacity, it’s up to Dawson to decide whether section 16 of the Criminal Code applies, said defence lawyer Jill Drennan, adding the Crown had not proven its case “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
According to Section 16 (1), “No person is criminally responsible for an act committed or an omission made while suffering from a mental disorder that rendered the person incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the act or omission or of knowing that it was wrong.”
There is an “abundance” of trial evidence to indicate that McCaig was “not sane and sober” when he attacked Hallock or capable of knowing right from wrong, Drennan said. Meanwhile, his memory was faulty because of his mental illness — he has experienced auditory delusions since childhood — and drug use.
McCaig did not sleep leading to Nov. 10 and injected drugs the night before, she noted. He was lost in his delusions and concerns for his girlfriend’s supposed safety while he saw shadow people and heard them mock him for not protecting her.
McCaig had no reason to hurt Hallock — or kill him — since they were strangers, while he only saw the man as a barrier to reaching his girlfriend, Drennan continued.
After stabbing Hallock six to eight times — including one to the chest — witnesses later said McCaig was dazed and acting like “a Radio Shack robot.”
While McCaig said knew he was stabbing a human, his mental psychosis prevented him from thinking anything contrary, she added. Meanwhile, there is enough evidence to suggest McCaig was intoxicated even if the toxicology screen did not determine the quantity in his system.
Crown submissions
During the trial, a physician noted that he could not declare McCaig not criminally responsible and conceded that the man could kill someone in his mental state, said Crown prosecutor Rob Parker. While evidence suggests McCaig suffered a disease of the mind, based on the doctor’s analysis, it’s “extremely risky” for the justice to disregard that opinion and reach a different conclusion.
The trial evidence shows that McCaig had a knife and went into “kill mode” to save his girlfriend, while he acknowledged that there could be loss of life, including his own, and knew he was stabbing a human, the prosecutor continued.
Since the doctor could not conclude that the delusions deprived him of criminal responsibility, McCaig, therefore, knew what he was doing was wrong, which closes the door on that argument, Parker added. Also, there is too much conflicting evidence between his mental state and the substances he consumed to determine the latter’s effect on him.
