The second-degree murder trial of Thomas Hamp began Monday with the defence admitting Hamp fatally stabbed his girlfriend Emily Stanche on Feb. 20, 2022.
But defence attorney Brian Pfefferle says his client isn’t criminally responsible for what happened on the third floor of their Main Street apartment that night.
“This is an issue of criminal responsibility and not an issue of a whodunit,” Pfefferle said.
At the outset of Monday’s trial day, Pfefferle argued the 25-year-old Hamp’s mental health is the key question to resolve at the centre of the case.
“Does he have the mental state for murder or is this a manslaughter,” Crown prosecutor Cory Bliss asked the court.
An agreed upon statement of facts was read to the court Monday, where Bliss said Thomas grabbed a kitchen knife in the early morning hours on Feb 20, 2022 and stabbed Sanche in the upper left chest. The blade …