A Red Deer man was delusional when he killed a woman in her West Park home in October 2016, a psychiatrist said in court Wednesday.
Dr. Yuri Metelitsa said he did not believe Jordan Koizumi appreciated what he was doing, and its repercussions, when he stabbed Tina-Marie Pfeiffer to death Oct. 27, 2016. An autopsy showed Pfeiffer was stabbed 58 times in the head, torso and right arm.
Minutes after police found Pfeiffer dead in her bedroom, RCMP spotted Koizumi wandering the streets in his underwear about 4 a.m. He admitted to police that he killed Pfeiffer, who had subletted a room to him in her rental house.
Koizumi, 27, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and his trial is underway in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench.
The defence argues Koizumi should not be held criminally responsible for mental health reasons. He was diagnosed as having suffered psychosis for years in a psychiatric assessment done following his arrest.
After his arrest, Koizumi said he killed his victim because he believed she was trying to steal his semen to impregnate herself. He also accused her of letting her friends sleep in his bed, which left a foul odour, and complained his valuables were being stolen.
“He was delusional at the time,” said Metelitsa, a forensic psychiatrist from Calgary.
Defence lawyer Patrick Edgerton asked Metelitsa if his admission to police showed he understood what he did was wrong.
Metelitsa said there is a difference between knowing a murder was committed from appreciating what that meant.
When he told police he would never murder again that was a “delusional justification of his action,” he testified.
When Metelitsa assessed Koizumi following the murder, he showed absolute indifference.
Metelitsa described Koizumi as showing a “complete lack of any emotional response, positive or negative, to that terrible action he had done.”
Koizumi’s mental illness was apparent by the time he was 17.
He was depressed and began to smoke marijuana heavily, self-mutilated by cutting and suffered bulimia. There were numerous other signs of psychosis. He had recurring feelings of déjà vu, believed he was telepathic, was paranoid, heard voices and was convinced others were trying to control him sometimes through the TV.
He was in and out of hospitals and treatment programs over the years and noticeably improved for a while when he was on anti-psychotic medication.
His mother, Kari Koizumi, testified about the many trips to hospitals and frequent discussions with mental health professionals.
Jordan would improve for a time but was kicked out of the house several times over the years because of his marijuana use.
A week before the murder, Jordan got into a heated confrontation with his father. When he returned to get some of his belongings the next day, Jordan acted as though nothing had happened.
It was unusual for him not to apologize, said his mother.
“I felt he was struggling. I knew something was wrong.”
The trial continues Thursday.