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鈥淲hatever mental illnesses Mr. MacDonald may have had at the time 鈥� and I accept he had some mental illnesses 鈥� they did not deprive him of the ability to appreciate the nature and quality of his acts, or knowing that his acts were morally wrong by society鈥檚 standards,鈥� the judge said, as MacDonald sat impassively in the prisoner鈥檚 box and Vermelhudo鈥檚 relatives sobbed in the public gallery.听

There were no signs of anything amiss when MacDonald, then 21, arrived at his aunt鈥檚 home at College Street and Dufferin Street to watch a movie on the evening of Dec. 16, 2016. But within 10 minutes of his arrival, relatives heard Vermelhudo screaming from the third floor; her 59-year-old mother, Maria, ran upstairs to find her daughter had been stabbed and MacDonald still holding her with his arm across her neck.听

She tried to intervene, but MacDonald grabbed her by the hair, stabbed her in the back, dragged her downstairs, and ultimately fled the house after Maria鈥檚 partner also tried to stop him. Maria survived the attack, and MacDonald was arrested at a west-end bus stop three days later.听

The trial 鈥渢ook an unusually long time to complete,鈥� Maxwell said, mainly due to the scheduling of numerous Crown and defence expert witnesses who testified over the years and submitted a pile of assessment reports. No other witnesses, nor MacDonald himself, testified.

The judge heard from no less than five forensic psychiatrists who all agreed it was a 鈥渃onfounding case without a clear answer as to what mental disorders Mr. MacDonald suffered from at the time of the incident.鈥澨�

Based on the opinions of their psychiatrists who assessed MacDonald, Crown attorneys Helen How and Nathan Kruger argued that he was not suffering from a mental disorder that was of 鈥渟ufficient magnitude鈥� to make him incapable of knowing his actions were morally wrong.听

Rather, he was acting out a 鈥渓ong-held fantasy鈥� of killing and sexually assaulting his aunt, and was interrupted by Maria 鈥� a fantasy that was 鈥渦nduly dismissed鈥� by the defence鈥檚 experts, the judge said.听

鈥淭he Crown submits the fantasy was not to sexually assault and then kill Ms. Vermelhudo; rather, violence and death were both a means to an end and part of the sexual act itself,鈥� Maxwell said.听

Defence lawyers Nicolas Pham and Iryna Revutsky, based on their own experts鈥� opinions, argued that MacDonald suffered a brief psychotic episode, believing his aunt was trying to trap him in the house and that there might be military police coming up the stairs to hurt him. In stabbing the two women, MacDonald was acting on a 鈥減aranoid delusion that he was in danger,鈥� the defence said.听

MacDonald does have some history with the mental health system, including being treated at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health where he was diagnosed in 2014 with a substance use disorder, as he was a chronic marijuana user. But to accept that he was not criminally responsible for Vermelhudo鈥檚 killing would mean having to accept his self-reports to the various psychiatrists about experiencing a psychotic episode in December 2016, Maxwell said.听

The judge concluded he was not a 鈥渞eliable or credible historian,鈥� in part because he lied to the police and feigned amnesia about the incident, only to later give a 鈥渧ery detailed and orderly recollection of the particulars鈥� to the various psychiatrists. He also maintained that his paranoid delusions were long-standing and the 鈥渃entral reason鈥� for his hospitalization at CAMH in 2014, when the medical records show otherwise.听

The judge said she agreed with a Crown psychiatrist鈥檚 observations that MacDonald鈥檚 account 鈥渕ust be scrutinized in the context of his known history鈥� of having violent sexual fantasies about his aunt.听

鈥淚n my view, this aspect of Mr. MacDonald鈥檚 history and the impact of his thoughts was unduly dismissed by the defence experts as not being a factor in the events of the day,鈥� Maxwell said.听

Her lengthy written judgment, totalling about 100 pages, will be released at a later date. In the excerpts that she read in court Tuesday, Maxwell acquitted MacDonald of attempting to murder Maria. While it鈥檚 possible he intended to kill her as well, it鈥檚 also possible that he didn鈥檛, but rather stabbed her as he was trying to escape. Because the indictment doesn鈥檛 specify the means by which MacDonald is alleged to have attempted to murder Maria, it鈥檚 not possible to find him guilty of a lesser offence such as aggravated assault, Maxwell said.听

The case returns to court later this year to set a date for a sentencing hearing. A conviction for second-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence, but Maxwell will need to decide how long MacDonald must serve in prison before becoming eligible for parole, a period of between 10 to 25 years.听

Maxwell said she appreciated the patience of Vermelhudo鈥檚 family members as the case slowly moved through the system, and thanked the lawyers for working co-operatively through the difficult scheduling issues. She also turned to MacDonald, seated quietly in the prisoner鈥檚 box wearing a grey sweater, and asked if he needed anything.听

鈥淣ot at this time, thank you, Your Honour,鈥� he said.