Luka Magnotta faked psychosis to help his defence

A German psychiatrist says he doesn’t believe Luka Rocco Magnotta was trying to mount a defence when the accused murderer engaged in wild ramblings during their dealings in 2012.

Dr. Thomas Barth treated Magnotta for roughly one week after his arrest in Berlin on an international warrant after the slaying of Jun Lin in Montreal.

Prosecutor Louis Bouthillier confronted the witness with several contradictions to Magnotta’s claims that Barth just chalked up to the accused’s illness.

Bouthillier also referred to medical reports that made no mention of Magnotta having any mental health problems: one from 2011 from Mount Sinai in Miami Beach that mentioned substance abuse but no psychiatric history and one just two months prior to the session in Berlin from the Jewish General Hospital that diagnoses Magnotta as having no psychosis or bipolar disorder.

Barth reasoned that some schizophrenic patients don’t like talking about their illness and try to hide it.

Bouthillier referred to all of Magnotta’s ramblings and the way Magnotta was bouncing from topic to topic during his interview with Barth. Bouthillier suggested Magnotta was just trying to get out as much as he could so it could all get on the record, asking Barth if he believed Magnotta was just putting on a show and wanted him and the world to know he was crazy.

Barth testified he didn’t believe so, that Magnotta was ill and not to use the word crazy. Barth said he had schizophrenic patients who were normal the day before committing a very serious crime.

The crown’s final question to Barth was whether he knew Magnotta was an actor. Barth said no.

The trial resumes in the morning with the testimony of the psychiatrist who is currently treating Magnotta at the RDP detention centre.

Agencies/Canadajournal