Judge finds Thomas Hamp not criminally responsible in 2022 stabbing death of Emily Sanche
Judge accepts defence contention Thomas Hamp suffered a psychotic break when he killed partner
A Saskatoon judge ruled Thursday that Thomas Hamp was in the throes of a psychotic break when he fatally stabbed his partner Emily Sanche in 2022 and is not criminally responsible for his actions.
Justice Grant Currie said he accepted forensic psychiatrist Shabehram Lohrasbe's opinion on Hamp's mental state at the time of the stabbing.
"This leads me to the conclusion that, when he stabbed and killed Emily, Thomas likely was operating under a mental disorder that rendered him incapable of knowing that doing so was wrong," Currie wrote in his 22-page decision at Court of King's Bench.
Hamp's judge-alone trial on the charge of second-degree murder began in September 2024. From the start, the defence never disputed that Hamp stabbed Sanche.
"This isn't going to be a whodunit," lawyer Brian Pfefferle said on the first day of the trial. "There is a mental element that will be an issue."
Prosecutor Cory Bliss did not disagree that there was a mental element at play. But instead of accepting that the then-25-year-old was suffering from "schizophrenic spectrum disorder," he suggested that Hamp's heavy use of cannabis to self-medicate his symptoms for obsessive compulsive disorder led to him killing Sanche. This would mean Hamp was criminally responsible for what happened.
Bliss read an agreed statement of facts into the record at the start of the trial.
"In the early morning hours of Feb. 20, 2022, Thomas retrieved a kitchen knife from the set of knives found within the suite," Bliss said.
"He stabbed Emily in the upper left chest with that knife. In doing so the blade broke and remained lodged in Emily's body."
She died later in hospital. Hamp had originally been charged with aggravated assault.
According to the statement, Hamp originally told a neighbour and police that a man had broken into the third-floor apartment and attacked the couple. He recanted that later, saying that he stabbed Sanche and then himself.
The paper trail
Sanche was aware of Hamp's deteriorating mental condition and kept careful notes about her efforts to get help. These notes proved critical to the psychiatric assessment by Shabehram Lohrasbe, the forensic psychiatrist retained by defence.
Lohrasbe testified that he met with Hamp twice in person and then again by video, for a total of five hours. He also interviewed Hamp's parents and reviewed reports from his clinical treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
Lohrasbe also reviewed detailed notes and text messages written by Sanche, who was studying for a master's degree in counselling and expressed concerns about her partner's deteriorating mental health in the year before he killed her. Lohrasbe also reviewed notes take by Sanche's cousin.
The notes included observations Sanche made hours before her death, after the couple contacted the Saskatoon Crisis Intervention Service. Hamp was supposed to go to the hospital that day.
Lohrasbe said he's done thousands of assessments over his four-decade career and that the written records from the two young women "are incredibly important documents." He said Sanche's text message chain "is poignant, and so close to the offence."
"I've never seen anything like it."
In his analysis, Lohrasbe said Hamp's worsening OCD symptoms and heavy cannabis use almost surely played a role in the psychotic episode, but "their precise potential roles cannot be delineated."
Next step: the Saskatchewan Review Board
The decision by Justice Currie ends Hamp's journey through the criminal justice system. Pfefferle said the next step is for his case to go before the Saskatchewan Review Board. It decides what happens to individuals the court finds not criminally responsible.
"It isn't about punishment at all," he said.
"It's singularly focused on trying to determine whether a person is safe to be released into the community. And once they're determined to be safe, and conditions are formulated, then the person can be released."
In a written statement, Hamp's parents Bryan and Sandi thanked the judge for the finding.
"We, like everyone who knew and loved Emily Sanche will forever grieve her death," they wrote.
"Emily was a beautiful, honest, smart and caring person. We are grateful for Emily's love for our son and the dedication she showed him."
Bliss said he would be consulting with his colleagues at Public Prosecutions on whether the decision would be appealed.
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