Schizophrenic Killer Guilty of Murders

0:00It's April 20th. Welcome in. This is Canada News Today, where local news meets AI. Richard Edwin, a 43-year-old man, just got hit with guilty verdicts on two counts of first degree murder for gunning down two total strangers. Just two days apart back in April of 2022. He killed 21-year-old college student, Karthik Vasudev, on April 7th near Toronto subway station, then 35-year-old Elijah Mahipath, on April 9th, a short walk away. His defense team pushed hard for not criminally responsible ruling, blaming it all on his schizophrenia and paranoia. They said voices commanded him, and he couldn't grasp right from wrong. But the judge shut that down flat, saying there was zero solid proof of hallucinations or delusions during the attacks. Just his own stories told years. Later to shrinks. Edwin admitted to the shootings, and yeah, he was deep in mental illness, hoarding gear for survival and wearing body cams. Still, the court saw him as sharp and calculated, planning each hit like a pro,

1:02no snap reactions or wild outbursts. Experts split on his mental state. One back the insanity plea, the other didn't. But the judge barely weighed their takes since they leaned on his. Here say, no weird vibes before, during, or right after. He even ditched his bloody clothes, smartly 24 minutes post-crime. Now Edwin stares down a life bid, with no parole for 25 years, while the victim's family's gear up for impact statements this week. Cases like this force us to wrestle with illness, versus intent in the justice game.