Man who said voice told him to kill girlfriend found guilty of 2nd-degree murder

July 19, 2019

A Toronto-area man who claimed an internal voice told him to brutally stab his girlfriend was found guilty of second-degree murder after an Ontario judge found his mental illness did not spur the slaying, nor did it prevent him from knowing what he did was wrong.

Richard Pereira’s lawyers had argued he should be found not criminally responsible for stabbing Kathryn Horne, a friend turned romantic partner, more than 30 times in the basement of his Brampton, Ont., home in March 2015.

In a decision released last week, an Ontario court found that while Pereira had a long history of mental illness, his account — in which he claimed a voice told him Horne, 58, had to die because she was part of a plot against him — lacked in credibility.

Ontario Superior Court Justice David E. Harris said there was “virtually no indication” that Pereira heard voices over roughly a decade of mental health crises and treatment, and he did not mention any such voices on the night in question.

There were many other inconsistencies, the judge said, noting that after Pereira took the stand, his own lawyers conceded the man’s version of events should not be relied on.

Instead, Harris said, it appears more likely that Pereira, who was 36 at the time of the killing, flew into a violent rage when Horne tried to end their relationship.