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Van attack trial delayed until Thursday so experts can view Minassian’s interviews

Nov 25, 2020 | 3:25 PM

TORONTO — The murder trial for the man who killed 10 people after driving a van down a crowded Toronto sidewalk has been delayed until Thursday.

The judge has given the Crown and its experts a few days to review a defence-hired psychiatrist’s interviews with Alek Minassian.

The 28-year-old Minassian faces 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder.

He argues he should be found not criminally responsible due to autism spectrum disorder for his actions on April 23, 2018. 

Minassian has admitted to planning and carrying out the attack and his state of mind at the time is the sole issue at trial.

Another psychiatrist has testified that Minassian’s autism spectrum disorder left him fixated on mass killings and vulnerable to the ramblings of an American mass murderer.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 23, 2020.

The Canadian Press