A 96-year-old Wallaceburg man, found not criminally responsible for killing his 89-year-old wife, could be moving to new accommodations.
A risk assessment hearing was held before the Ontario Review Board Wednesday about the man, who cannot be named to protect the victim’s identity.
The board’s decision, termed a disposition, will be issued in about a week, stated a board spokesperson in an email.
Typically, the “reasons for disposition” follow about a month after the hearing, the spokesperson added.
A fitness hearing was held in a Chatham court in on Feb. 1, where Justice Maria Carroccia accepted the recommendation of medical experts and found the man not guilty of second-degree murder after strangling his wife to death.
Following the fitness hearing, the man was sent to the Southwest Center for Forensic Mental Health Care in St. Thomas to allow the Ontario Review Board to conduct a further assessment to determine an appropriate arrangement for the man.
According to a media report, a joint submission to the board is requesting the man be sent to a long-term care home that can accommodate people with dementia.
According to facts heard at the fitness hearing, the man, who suffers from hallucinations and delusions, strangled his wife until she was dead in the early morning of Dec. 26, 2020, while in their apartment after spending Christmas Day with their family.
When interviewed by Chatham-Kent police on Dec. 26, 2020, the man claimed he was doing God’s will and thought God was responsible for his actions.
It was heard during the fitness hearing that the two forensic psychiatrists who had conducted assessments on the man both concluded he was fit to stand trial but was not criminally responsible for his actions.