Klein to stand trial in stabbing death of Abbotsford high school student
Posted January 24, 2019 2:44 pm.
Last Updated January 24, 2019 8:19 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The man accused of stabbing a popular teenager to death at her high school in Abbotsford has now been found fit to stand trial by a judge.
Letisha Reimer, 13, died in 2016 following a random attack at Abbotsford Senior Secondary. Gabriel Klein is charged with second-degree murder. He is also accused of aggravated assault for an attack on another girl on that same day.
On Thursday, Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes said she is satisfied Klein is fit to stand trial. She also ruled Klein should stay in a psychiatric hospital until the completion of his trial for second-degree murder.
RELATED: Review Board finds Gabriel Klein fit for trial in death of Abbotsford teen
“All of the summer and into the fall, he really wan’t doing too well,” Klein’s lawyer Martin Peters admitted outside court on Thursday. “At the Review Board hearings, he was obviously not able to focus on what was going on.”
Peters says his client has since had a change in his medication. “It’s a miracle. It has really turned him around.”
Klein has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Earlier this month, the B.C. Review Board found Klein fit to stand trial. On Thursday, Justice Holmes confirmed that decision.
“The evidence that we got in the Review Board — some of which was touched upon today in the hearing — is he had voices in his head, screaming at him all the time. Twenty-four hours a day. It’s very hard to concentrate on a conversation, let alone evidence in court, when there’s a further dialogue going on in your head,” Peters said.
RELATED: Man accused of stabbing teen in Abbotsford says he hears voices ‘every hour of the day’
In court on Thursday, Klein appeared to be mumbling to himself. Peters says he’s not sure whether his client is still hearing voices in his head.
Peters told the judge on Thursday that he would prefer that she continue to be the judge to oversee the case. “Justice Holmes is a very experienced jurist and certainly has lots of experience with these types of cases. As a matter of personal preference … I believe she is a very good judge to try this case.”
The trial is scheduled to begin in October.
“I expect we’re going to be pursuing the defense of not criminally responsible as a result of mental disorder,” Peters added.
