Alek Minassian repeatedly told a psychiatrist — hired by his lawyer — that he knew his deadly van attack was wrong. He said he knew many people would die, that death was irreversible, that his victim’s families would be devastated. He said he knew society, and God, would likely be appalled. And that he would be sentenced to a life in prison for it.
Yet the psychiatrist’s report, submitted as an expert opinion at the mass murder trial, said Minassian did not understand that what he was doing was wrong.
This apparent disconnect was one of many challenges to the report of Dr. Alexander Westphal, who is testifying in defence of Minassian, by Crown prosecutor Joseph Callaghan, Friday.
“How can you testify in this court, at this trial on mass murder and say that, leaving out that he told you he knew it was extremely devastating and irreversible,” Callaghan said to Westphal during his stern cross-examination.
“You kept the other facts away from the court by not including them in your report,” Callaghan said. “You left it out because it did not fit the narrative you were putting forth. Do you agree?”
“I don’t. I don’t, I’m sorry,” Westphal said, during a second day of Callaghan’s parsing and challenging of Westphal’s opinion that Minassian was so broken mentally by his autism it could be used to justify a verdict of not criminally responsible for the attack.
“I have expressed how I see it,” Westphal said, “which is that he didn’t understand the social, emotional context of this and could not put this in the context of other people’s lives.”
Minassian, 28, of Richmond Hill, Ont., admits to the killings and injuries during his planned attack, but pleads not guilty to 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 of attempted murder, claiming his mental state made him not criminally responsible.
Minassian was diagnosed with autism as a child.
Callaghan said there was a deep disconnect between what Westphal put in his report and other evidence heard at trial.
In his report, Westphal concluded: “The act was also completely beyond his comprehension, given his absence of understanding of emotional nuance, social exchange, and contextual accommodation. He had absolutely no insight into the terrible impact that the act would have on other beings, and did not think about the pain he was bound to cause, nor understood it, even slightly now.”
Callaghan noted portions of hours of interviews Westphal had with Minassian in jail, interviews with Minassian’s parents and older brother, text messages and Facebook messages Minassian had with a few friends and family, and reports and testing by others that seem to contradict Westphal’s analysis.
Callaghan said it was not “a fair report to give to the court,” and questioned if Westphal understood his responsibility to the court at this important trial.
Judge Anne Molloy cut that line of Callaghan’s questioning short.
At one point in Minassian’s interview with Westphal, Minassian discusses the reaction to his deadly attack, Callaghan said.
Minassian told Westphal: “I guess, in my case, other than the fringe groups of the internet, it’s going to be probably unanimous that this was unjustifiable.”
Why didn’t Westphal include this “powerful statement” from the killer in his report, Callaghan asked.
“I think that what he says is captured by the fact he recognizes this was something society would see as wrong,” Westphal replied, “but he also doesn’t understand either the context for it or that he was essentially alone in these (internet) groups in thinking this was anything more than really sick humour.”
In his report Westphal wrote: “No doubt Mr. Minassian’s plan was conceived in the context of his saturation with provocative, hate-filled material on the internet. ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) made him less able to appreciate the theatrical, exaggerated nature and extremeness of the material, or the dark humor behind some of it. He took it very literally.”
Yet in Westphal’s interviews with Minassian, Callaghan noted, Minassian told the doctor the opposite of that.
“I think a lot of the time they, they were joking about it. Like, they weren’t actually being serious,” Minassian said in an interview. He said the internet forums didn’t give him advice, just “entertainment or stories.”
I have expressed how I see it, which is that he didn’t understand the social, emotional context of this
Callaghan said Minassian saying he purposely didn’t discuss his views on mass murder before the attack with any of his friends or family was more evidence he knew it was wrong.
Minassian said he kept it to himself because “they might chastise me or get upset with me about it… there was never anyone that I felt would, would agree with the mass killing stuff.”
Westphal said his report captured the entirety of 14 hours of interviews and testing and not just specific passages of Minassian’s stated point of view.
Callaghan asked Westphal about Minassian lying during his police interrogation in an attempt to protect others; was that not a sign Minassian was capable of showing empathy to others, as opposed to how the report describes Minassian as having a deep deficit in this.
“That demonstrated his ability to have empathy and take the perspective of others and respect their privacy, do you agree or disagree?” Callaghan said.
“I agree with that,” Westphal replied.
The trial, being held entirely online over a video-conferencing platform, is scheduled to continue with Westphal still on the stand on Monday.
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