hedvig holiness: Man accused of killing mother had mental health history

Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012 Ottawa -- Yellow police tape surrounds the gutted apartment where one person died in a fire at 90 Woodridge Cres., early on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012. Ottawa Police say it's a homicide investigation. DANIELLE BELL/OTTAWA SUN/QMI AGENCY

Scene of a fatal fire at 90 Woodridge Crescent in Ottawa. Tuesday November 27,2012. Errol McGihon/Ottawa Sun/QMI Agency

Yellow police tape surrounds the gutted apartment where one person died in a fire at 90 Woodridge Cres., early on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012. (DANIELLE BELL Ottawa Sun)

One person is dead after an apartment fire at 90 Woodridge Cres., early on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012. (Andrew Tarzwell submitted photo)

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A 30-year-old high school dropout accused of murdering his disabled mother was deemed ?not a significant threat to the safety of the public? two years ago stemming from an attack on his father.

Rene Goudreau, who is charged with first-degree murder of his wheelchair-bound mother, 53-year-old Lucie Goudreau, has a long history of mental illness, including schizoaffective and bipolar disorders, according to Ontario Review Board documents obtained by the Sun.

They paint a troubled picture of Goudreau. According to his own interviews, he experimented with alcohol at 13, marijuana a year later. After dropping out at 19, he bounced between jobs, including tele-marketing, fast food and construction.

He stayed now and again at his mother?s Woodridge Cres. apartment where her body was found after a Tuesday morning morning.

In 2010, after his 56-year-old father Jacques Goudreau died of cancer, he moved back with his mother.

Goudreau had reconciled with his father. He had been ordered to have no contact after he broke down his father?s door and attacked him in 2008.

It started when Jacques locked Rene out, but after the attack and the arrest, his mother let him back into the apartment the next day. In 2008, he was found not criminally responsible on charges of assault causing bodily harm, assault and intent to resist arrest and mischief.

And it was Lucie who told doctors in 2010 she ?very much appreciates? Rene living with her since she has multiple sclerosis and depends on him daily.

The ORB ruled in Oct. 2010 that Goudreau was ?not a significant threat to public safety.?

At the time of the attack, Goudreau was manic, and as long as his symptoms were controlled with medication, the chance of another violent incident was ?unlikely,? the documents stated at the time.

Goudreau started psychiatric care in 2004 at the Ottawa Hospital after being arrested by police for trespassing.

There were other arrests and hospitalizations ? once for breaking a bus window in 2007 and when he was caught running naked down the street.

Goudreau had a history of not taking his medication, mild substance and alcohol abuse, the documents suggest.

In 2001, he was convicted of attempted theft under $5,000 and assault.

In 2008 and 2009, Goudreau was deemed to pose ?a significant threat to the safety of the public.? Several times he was discharged to a subsidized apartment, where conditions included he refrain from alcohol or drugs, not have weapons and submit to random urine samples.

But in 2010, the review board changed its opinion.

Goudreau appeared in Ottawa court on Wednesday, where a judge ordered a 30-day psychiatric assessment to determine if he?s fit to stand trial.

He is not entering a plea, said his lawyer Doug Baum, because ?there?s a concern about his perception of reality and understanding of the proceedings.?

?He does appear to be a little unstable ? I think that is obvious,? Baum said outside court.

?There are some concerns, the court shares them, which is why a psychiatric opinion has been sought.

?He?s been ill for some time.?

Goudreau muttered incoherently during his first court appearance Tuesday, when Baum told the court his client had a history at the Royal Ottawa Hospital Mental Health Centre.

Twitter: @ottawasundbell

? With files from Megan Gillis

Other cases of children killing their parents in the last decade:

In December 2010, Zhou Fang of Ottawa fatally shot his father in the back with a crossbow and then smashed his skull with a hammer at a Toronto library. A courtroom heard that Fang endured years of abuse by his father and suffered from post traumatic stress when he committed the murder. He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years.
In 2008, Aaron Howard was found guilty of second degree murder for the brutal slaying of his adoptive mother Deborah Frankel-Howard. Aaron, 19 at the time, bludgeoned his mother to death with a lead gas pipe. Aaron fled the city and eventually turned himself into an RCMP detachment in Manitoba. Deborah?s body was found in a cold storage closet in the basement of their Gage Cres. home.
In March 2005, Daniel Maxheleau stabbed to death his parents Gerald and Louise and his sister Michelle, 25. At the time, Maxheleau told doctors he believed he was pregnant and his family wanted to hurt him and his unborn baby. He was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic and was found not criminally responsible on three charges of first-degree murder.
In 2000, wealthy Renfrew cattle rancher Kenneth Dick, 81, was found beaten and stabbed to death on his farm. It was soon revealed that his murder was motivated by money ? Dick?s son Peter, 51, hired Leroy Baumhour and Brian Reavie to murder his father.

? With files from Jessica Beddaoui

Source: http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/11/28/psych-assessment-for-man-accused-of-killing-mother

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hedvig holiness

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Man accused of killing mother had mental health history - Ottawa Sun

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