Airdrie man who killed his mother in manic-psychotic state to remain in psychiatric custody
Alexander Thorpe will not have any unsupervised privileges for at least another year if the Alberta Review Board decides to accept the recommendations of his treatment team.
But the 21-year-old could be permitted closely supervised trips away from his psychiatric treatment centre for treatment programs, medical appointments or possibly camping trips. The supervised trips would have to be unanimously agreed to by his treatment team.
Thorpe was found not criminally responsible for killing his mother - 48-year-old Melanie Lowen - sometime in the early hours of Jan. 13 in Airdrie.
He was arrested that morning after wandering naked through a car dealership while listening to religious sermons. He told RCMP officers that he had killed the devil that had possessed his mother.
During Wednesday's hearing, his psychiatrist Dr. Ken Hashman says Thorpe has been "absolutely stable" and not shown any signs of relapse in the last 10 months.
He says Thorpe suffers from bipolar disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder and added the psychotic break that lead to the violent killing was likely brought on by what he termed the "positive stress" of a religious convention Thorpe attended in Atlanta, Georgia, days earlier.
In video evidence shown during his trial in October, Thorpe could be heard referring to himself as a prophet, believing he had killed the devil in his mother, and thinking the RCMP detachment he was taken to was heaven and the officers angels.
The board also heard that the former high school valedictorian and university honours student has been a model patient, working to understand his illness and reporting to staff when he has concerns of a relapse.
Hashman gave an example from earlier this month when Thorpe reported a metallic taste in his mouth to doctors, saying he worried it might be an early warning of a relapse.
Hashman said Thorpe had noted the taste of cinnamon and Myrrh in his mouth at the time of the fatal attack on his mother. The source of the metallic taste turned out to be a change in vitamins that contained zinc.
Doctors also noted that Thorpe's replies during interviews were consistent and checked out with what others reported.
No date is set for the review board to release their decision.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.