MONTREAL - A psychiatrist for Guy Turcotte says that the cardiologist who killed his two young children is unlikely to re-offend and should be released from detention.
Dr. Dominique Bourget, who testified Friday at a mental health review board, said Turcotte was suffering from severe depression at the time he killed his two young children.
Bourget said studies showed that the recidivism rate of people who murdered their children was almost zero.
"He's a greater risk to himself than to others," said Bourget.
Turcotte's defense team is planning to call on three psychologists to argue for his sanity.
A five-member panel will eventually decide whether the former cardiologist should be freed, released with conditions, or remain detained in a psychiatric institution with a yearly review of his file.
A jury found Turcotte not criminally responsible for killing his children in 2009 because he was too distraught over the breakup of his marriage and said he didn't remember committing the act.
His sensational trial heard he stabbed his five-year-old son Olivier and three-year-old daughter Anne-Sophie a total of 46 times. Turcotte admitted causing the deaths but denied intent.
The board is expected to render a written decision at a later date.
The mother of the dead children disagrees
Once again, the mother of the victims -- Turcotte's ex-wife Isabelle Gaston – was in attendance and on Friday she expressed her disagreement with Bourget's analysis.
Gaston argued that her ex-husband was not likely to be in a safe mental state, citing statistics demonstrating that 77 percent of people who kill their children later commit suicide
Gaston expressed doubts that the court system could protect people.
"I expect nothing of the tribunal and courts do not protect me," said Gaston. "What protects me is you, the people who take offense, that rise up and believe that when you kill children, it is not a trivial act."
with files from The Canadian Press
