Parents of accused killer Thomas Hamp testify at murder trial about son's decline
CBC
Emily Sanche typed a detailed written timeline of her partner's escalating bizarre behaviour hours before he fatally stabbed her.
The five-page document was supposed to give emergency room doctors an overview of his mental state when he went to the hospital. Instead, the timeline is now Defence Exhibit 4 at Thomas Hamp's murder trial.
Hamp is on trial at Court of King's Bench in Saskatoon, charged with second-degree murder in the Feb. 20, 2022, killing of Sanche.
The 27-year-old is not disputing that he killed her, but his lawyer is arguing he should be found not criminally responsible because of a mental disorder.
On Thursday, Hamp's parents, Bryan and Sandi, testified at their son's trial.
Bryan Hamp testified how he, Emily and Sandi communicated through a group chat in the fall of 2021 to share updates on Thomas's condition.
Emily had reached out on the morning of Feb. 19, 2021, "saying Thomas was in bad shape, very agitated and not doing well," he told court.
They exchanged messages through the day and, after calling the crisis hotline, agreed that Bryan would take his son to emergency on Feb. 20.
To assist in that meeting, Emily sent the couple the timeline at 4:48 p.m. CST.
That evening, she texted Bryan to alert him that Thomas had shaved his head — she said he had a delusion that pedophiles had long hair — and warned him not to be shocked by his appearance.
Their next interaction was at 2:26 a.m., when Bryan answered a phone call.
"I could hear Thomas in the background, yelling 'They're over here, they're over there,'" he testified.
"I was really concerned because I could hear Thomas, but not Emily."
After the call disconnected, he phoned 911 and raced to the couple's building. He arrived to find police and paramedics already on scene.
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