Psychiatrist raised red flags in double murder case in Nova Scotia

HALIFAX – A psychiatric expert says Glen Race should not be held criminally responsible for murdering two Halifax men in 2007, but Dr. Hy Bloom admits he’s still troubled by certain “red flags” in the case.

Bloom told Nova Scotia’s Supreme Court today it was difficult for him to reconcile the fact that Race had the self control to fatally stab two men, hide their bodies and vehicles, then flee to within 12 metres of the Mexican border, even though he was suffering from psychotic delusions.

Racepleaded guilty in September to first-degree murder in the death of Trevor Brewster and second-degree murder in Michael Knott’s death.

However, defence lawyer Joel Pink has filed an application to have his client declared not criminally responsible because he suffers from schizophrenia, a mental illness that Pink says left him incapable of appreciating that the murders were morally wrong.

Bloom says he concluded that Race is a highly intelligent man with a gift for staying focused on his goals while concealing the delusions that motivated the killings.

Race was extradited from the United States in October 2010 to face the charges in Halifax after he was sentenced to life in prison for the shooting death of mechanic Darcy Manor in Upstate New York.