More psych testing for accused killer dad (Calgary, Canada)

Dad JAMES BING JUN LOUIE is charged with murdering his 13-year-old son and his 9-year-old daughter. He nearly killed his wife as well. But it seems the shrinks have to pontificate on the matter, so justice will be delayed a little bit longer.

http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/01/08/12394031.html

Monday, January 11, 2010

More psych testing for accused killer dad
By KEVIN MARTIN, QMI Agency
Last Updated: 8th January 2010, 12:52pm

CALGARY - A Calgary father charged with murdering his two children and trying to kill his wife will undergo further psychiatric testing. Crown and defence lawyers appeared in provincial court Friday to adjourn the case of James Bing Jun Louie another month.

Defence counsel Noel O’Brien said doctors at the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre asked for more time to examine his client.

“There’s a request that the matter be put over for a further 30-day assessment, which I am consenting to,” said O’Brien, who appeared in court on behalf of his client, who remained in forensic custody.

Crown prosecutor Harold Hagglund did not oppose the application for further assessment time.

Outside court, O’Brien said the additional testing was not out of the ordinary for such a complex case.

“This is not abnormal, these cases are very complicated,” the high-profile criminal lawyer said.

O’Brien said the initial 30-day assessment ordered last month was not sufficient to determine his client’s mental state, particularly since it overlapped the Christmas season.

“It’s not unusual to seek an extension,” he said.

O’Brien said his client’s mental condition is a critical issue in the case at this stage.

“We think this is the way this matter should be proceeding,” he said.

“There’s two issues, one is whether or not he is fit for trial, the other is if ... he’s a candidate for (a finding of) not criminally responsible.”

Louie, 43, faces two charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of his son and daughter as well as an allegation of attempted murder.

He is accused of killing his son, Jason, 13, and daughter, Jane, 9, and trying to murder their mother, Ying, in the family’s Panorama Hills Pl. N.W. home on Nov. 27.

Louie’s case returns to court on Feb. 5.