Ngeab Khin is found not criminally responsible for the murder of his wife.
By JANE SIMS
FREE PRESS JUSTICE REPORTER
London Free Press (Canada)
For months, Ngeab Khin ignored voices in his head that told him to kill his wife.
He was seeing a psychiatrist and had been prescribed anti-psychotic drugs. He and his wife were to leave for Cambodia to seek spiritual help for his illness.
But on June 27, 2005, the voices finally won.
Khin later told a psychiatrist he had no control of his body -- that the force of a snake growing in his stomach and the voices were too much.
Yesterday, the 51-year-old Cambodian immigrant was found not criminally responsible for the murder of his wife of 26 years, Yorn Mey, 47.
"This is truly tragic," said Superior Court Justice Lynda Templeton in London. The case began Monday.
Khin, who was charged with second-degree murder, suffers from a schizo-affective disorder, a mental illness that causes him to hear voices, hallucinate and have delusions.
He sat with a Cambodian interpreter yesterday, wide-eyed and mouth slightly open. His expression rarely changed.
The voices in his head, psychiatrist Sam Swaminath testified, were commanding him to kill. And Khin could do nothing to stop them.
Mey, who had survived cancer surgery eight months earlier, was found beaten and stabbed in her blood-soaked bed.
She died of blunt force trauma to the head from the blows of a small crowbar found later with a knife stuck in the soil of the back garden.
Her fractures were so massive, even the base of her skull was broken.
Khin lived in northeast London with his wife, two adult sons and a daughter-in-law.
The family knew he was ill and told police later he'd spent much of his time sitting in the house spitting into a cup.
After he killed his wife, Khin called 911 and told the dispatcher, "There is a lot inside me I can't control."
Swaminath said he reviewed Khin's records from a London psychiatrist who had been seeing the man since 2003.
The last clinical note in Khin's medical file described him hearing voices and wanting to be tested for a snake in his stomach, despite anti-psychotic medication.
Police found an unfilled prescription for the drug dated April 5, 2005, at the house, plus other anti-psychotic pills and medications.
Eight days after his arrest, Khin was seen by another psychiatrist at Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre, who diagnosed a major mental illness.
Khin was found unfit to stand trial, but was not admitted to Regional Mental Health Care St. Thomas until four months later.
After treatment, Khin was found fit for trial and held at the psychiatric facility.
Templeton said she was satisfied Khin's mental illness made him incapable of knowing the murder was wrong.
She ordered he be returned to the medium-security unit of the St. Thomas facility. His case will be reviewed by the Ontario Review Board within 90 days.
He was seeing a psychiatrist and had been prescribed anti-psychotic drugs. He and his wife were to leave for Cambodia to seek spiritual help for his illness.
But on June 27, 2005, the voices finally won.
Khin later told a psychiatrist he had no control of his body -- that the force of a snake growing in his stomach and the voices were too much.
Yesterday, the 51-year-old Cambodian immigrant was found not criminally responsible for the murder of his wife of 26 years, Yorn Mey, 47.
"This is truly tragic," said Superior Court Justice Lynda Templeton in London. The case began Monday.
Khin, who was charged with second-degree murder, suffers from a schizo-affective disorder, a mental illness that causes him to hear voices, hallucinate and have delusions.
He sat with a Cambodian interpreter yesterday, wide-eyed and mouth slightly open. His expression rarely changed.
The voices in his head, psychiatrist Sam Swaminath testified, were commanding him to kill. And Khin could do nothing to stop them.
Mey, who had survived cancer surgery eight months earlier, was found beaten and stabbed in her blood-soaked bed.
She died of blunt force trauma to the head from the blows of a small crowbar found later with a knife stuck in the soil of the back garden.
Her fractures were so massive, even the base of her skull was broken.
Khin lived in northeast London with his wife, two adult sons and a daughter-in-law.
The family knew he was ill and told police later he'd spent much of his time sitting in the house spitting into a cup.
After he killed his wife, Khin called 911 and told the dispatcher, "There is a lot inside me I can't control."
Swaminath said he reviewed Khin's records from a London psychiatrist who had been seeing the man since 2003.
The last clinical note in Khin's medical file described him hearing voices and wanting to be tested for a snake in his stomach, despite anti-psychotic medication.
Police found an unfilled prescription for the drug dated April 5, 2005, at the house, plus other anti-psychotic pills and medications.
Eight days after his arrest, Khin was seen by another psychiatrist at Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre, who diagnosed a major mental illness.
Khin was found unfit to stand trial, but was not admitted to Regional Mental Health Care St. Thomas until four months later.
After treatment, Khin was found fit for trial and held at the psychiatric facility.
Templeton said she was satisfied Khin's mental illness made him incapable of knowing the murder was wrong.
She ordered he be returned to the medium-security unit of the St. Thomas facility. His case will be reviewed by the Ontario Review Board within 90 days.
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