Etienne Beaulieu was treated in hospital just days before he killed his mother
Posted in Latest News | 5 commentsOn August 4, 2010, suffering from severe and intense delusions, Etienne Beaulieu believed that a young woman was trapped inside the body of his mother, 49-year-old Isabelle Robitaille. Etienne Beaulieu killed his mother to free that young woman the court has heard.
The agreed statement of facts that was presented to the court. The Crown is not contesting any of the evidence:
-The Court heard Beaulieu’s family had been concerned about the Etienne deteriorating mental health for months.
-Beaulieu was seeing a psychiatrist and spent a few days in the hospital at the end of July, just days before he attacked his mother.
-On Aug. 4, 2010, Beaulieu was home alone with his mother at their Bissonnette St. home. Beaulieu hit his mother twice over the head with a baseball bat, then dragged her down a set of stairs. Etienne Beaulieu stabbed his mother in the neck and the stomach.
-The rest of Beaulieu’s family, his father and sister, returned to the house at 6 p.m. and discovered the horrific scene.
-Robitaille, a French immersion teacher at Prince of Wales Public School, died of her injuries at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre.
Local press has stated ”Beaulieu’s defense team has argued his mental illness was so severe he could not comprehend the repercussions of his act.”
The outcome of this hearing is a foregone conclusion. Decided long before the judge hands down the decision she is bound to deliver, Etienne Beaulieu will be found “not criminally responsible” in the killing his mother.
Dr. Gary Chaimowitz, a psychiatrist who examined Beaulieu in May, testified that Beaulieu was suffering from intense and aggravating delusions that day, and in his deteriorating mental state, Beaulieu believed another person was trapped inside the body he saw in front of him. Chaimowitz also testified Beaulieu had a “major psychiatric disorder”, but didn’t offer a formal diagnosis to the court. He testified Beaulieu could be suffering from schizophrenia. His symptoms included paranoid and bizarre delusions including the illusion that he was being persecuted.
The psychiatrist believed Beaulieu had suffered from these delusions for years before the attack. That Beaulieu was unable to distinguish right from wrong that day. “His disorder was so intense, so active, he could not appreciate the consequences of his actions,” Chaimowitz testified.
Chaimowitz testified that although Beaulieu’s state has improved since arrest, and he continues to improve each day, he does still pose a risk to the community. Chaimowitz then adds the risk could be managed with treatment, hospitalization and supervision.
As has been so often in the past, the only argument clearly heard in the Whitby courtroom is that a family struggling with the effects of mental illness sought help. And as so often is the case, it is only after disaster has struck, and life has been forever altered, that a psychiatric community offers a message of hope. “The risk can be managed with treatment” they say.
If that is true, then what types of intervention and care should have been implemented before August 4, 2010. Society needs to question why treatments were not successful. Isabelle Robitaille is dead. Her family torn apart. Etienne Beaulieu is not criminally responsible. The cost is immeasurable, and yet nobody pays.
And the crown sits quietly, patting themselves on the back for a job well done.
5 Responses to “ “Etienne Beaulieu was treated in hospital just days before he killed his mother”
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You people who run this site still don’t understand what mental illness is. By stating that nobody pays for the crime in the above story….Etienne will always be paying for what he did …that also goes for everyone elses names and stories posted on this site. There is no punishment harsher then what he(they) is(are) going through in his(their) mind(s). Take a minute and Google mental illness or even speak with someone who suffers from it and you’ll get a glimpse into the hell mentally ill people live in on a daily basis, instead of just exploiting them all on this site pushing your agenda.
Hi Linda
Rather than alter the phrase “no one pays”… let me clarify the intent.
Everyone in the courtroom (officials) appears to be in agreement regarding the accuracy of the “agreed statement of facts” and Dr. Gary Chaimowitz assessment of Beaulieu.
Here we have the family recognizing Beaulieu deteriorating mental condition, and seeking help. Quoting: “Beaulieu was seeing a psychiatrist and spent a few days in the hospital at the end of July, just days before he attacked his mother”.
So if Dr. Gary Chaimowitz assessment is accurate, and we have no reason to believe that it is not, what was the quality of care received by Etienne Beaulieu just prior to killing his mother. If the psychiatric field is capable of achieving spectacular treatment results after a crime, which has been stated in numerous other cases, then either the quality of care provided to Etienne Beaulieu was inferior and substandard, or the public is being lied to in regards to how quickly those found NCR can be safely integrated back into society.
This family has paid dearly. The cost has been immeasurable. And yet nobody is compelled to answer how this happened… or why!
Well I must disagree with Linda…
While they must live with what they have done, what about us families who must also live without our loved ones? And be forced once a year to deal with this over and over?
Raymond Irwin was seen in St Mary’s hospital the day before the “murder” ( that is what it is, not an indexed offence) and they released the beast to go home and sleep off what ever drugs he was on. 12 hrs later our mother was dead. Think about that, and tell me he is suffering more than anyone else as he pursues his mothers estate with legal aid lawyers and 3 meals a day and his own private condo all paid for by who? Us the damn taxpayers and the same family that he forever changed!
…..This kills me, i knew the defendent, and family personallly…. as far as i knew, he wwas in a seemingly stable metal state…. what has not been mentioned , and what i think attributes grately to this mental deterioration, is that the family had moved not 2 years before this tradgety, Etienne was a smart, athletic, motivated, kid who was close with his family… he expressed to me personally that there wasnt much he wouldnt want more.. than to move and have to start a new life. I would specualte drugs became apart of his life after his move to Peterborough. Poor family.
You guys seriously don’t understand, I work in mental health (forensics) and to be honest, no not all of these people give a shit if they have to live with their actions….some of them really really do not believe they even committed their index offense, and some can’t even get out of bed due to the devastation of their actions.
You can’t make this young man “pay” for something he didn’t really understand he was doing just to make yourselves feel better about the whole situation.
The whole mental health system in general is broken…the doctors really don’t care…they don’t ask the questions that need to be asked and they discharge patients that maybe should have been kept a little longer.