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Even without Magnotta’s version, psychosis diagnosis stands: psychiatrist

The psychiatrist who assessed Luka Rocco Magnotta for criminal responsibility says even if she had disregarded everything he told her, several elements still showed he was psychotic when Jun Lin was killed and dismembered.

MONTREAL — The psychiatrist who assessed Luka Rocco Magnotta for criminal responsibility says even if she had disregarded everything he told her, several elements still showed he was psychotic when Jun Lin was killed and dismembered.

Defence witness Marie-Frederique Allard is being cross-examined today about her report on Magnotta, which found he was suffering in 2012 from previously diagnosed schizophrenia that had gone untreated for years.

Magnotta is charged with first-degree murder in the May 2012 slaying of Lin, a Chinese student Magnotta had just met for the first time.

He has admitted to causing Lin’s death but has pleaded not guilty by way of mental disorder.

The Crown has countered that Magnotta’s actions were planned and deliberate.

Allard stood her ground despite being grilled by Crown prosecutor Louis Bouthillier about omissions and perceived contradictions in her report. She says there is plenty of information from before and after the slaying to support her conclusion he didn’t know right from wrong when he killed Lin.

Magnotta told Allard he became concerned that Lin was an agent sent by the government to get him and that voices in his head urged him to kill.