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The homicide trial of Solaimane Elbettah within the killing of his Sundre MacDonald’s co-worker will resume in June, offering his lawyer can rearrange his schedule.
Defence counsel Kelsey Sitar appeared in Calgary Court docket of King’s Bench on Friday on behalf of trial lawyer Pawel Milzcarek to set June 4-7 to finish Elbettah’s trial.
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However Sitar advised Justice Michele Hollins these dates are contingent on one other file of Milczarek’s collapsing subsequent week.
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Crown prosecutor Joe Mercier advised court docket that if these dates don’t work out for the defence there should be a prolonged delay earlier than Elbettah’s trial resumes.
Mercier mentioned he canvassed dates in Could, July, September and October with Milczarek, however none of these will work out for the defence counsel.
“So if there’s an adjournment (of the June dates) clearly there will probably be a prolonged delay,” Mercier mentioned.
Elbettah, 28, is charged with first-degree homicide within the July 4, 2022, killing of his MacDonald’s co-worker, Josh Burns, 19.
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Elbettah confessed to killing Burns with a machete, however Milczarek will argue his consumer was not criminally accountable on the time as a result of he was struggling a psychological dysfunction.
Final month psychiatrist Dr. Cynthia Baxter testified Elbettah suffered hallucinations and delusions, believing demons have been controlling him and Burns, on the time of the killing.
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Baxter recognized Elbettah as affected by schizophrenia in addition to hashish use dysfunction.
She mentioned the accused’s heavy use of marijuana would have exacerbated his schizophrenia signs.
Baxter mentioned Elbettah demonstrated three of 5 signs of the psychological dysfunction whereas solely two are required for a schizophrenia analysis.
She mentioned the accused had paranoid and spiritual delusions which have been a “mounted and false perception,” hallucinations of demons whispering to him and diminished emotional expression.
In accordance with an announcement of admitted information the 2 males have been working the evening shift when Elbettah left the restaurant to go to the motel the place he lived throughout the road, retrieved a big machete, returned and fatally attacked Burns.
Trial prosecutor Vince Pingitore will cross-examine the physician when the case resumes.
KMartin@postmedia.com
X: @KMartinCourts
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