An inmate has died at the federal psychiatric prison in Saskatoon.
Denis Grandbois, an inmate at the Regional Psychiatric Centre, died Thursday of “apparent natural causes,” according to a statement from the Correctional Service of Canada.
The Federal Prison Service says Grandbois’ next of kin have been notified.
Grandbois was charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of his wife, Beverly, in July 1997. He pleaded no contest due to a mental disorder, but was convicted of the charge after a jury trial, according to court records. murder.
Grandbois tried to overturn the murder conviction on appeal in 2003, arguing that the sentence was unreasonable because it conflicted with the opinions of three psychiatrists who testified for the defense.
There was no doubt Grandbois was mentally ill, Judge James MacPherson said wrote in his 2003 decision. He had been hospitalized many times and during the trial it was unanimously diagnosed by three psychiatric experts that he suffered from bipolar affective disorder with delusions, characterized by mood swings ranging from depression to hypomania.
But there were signs that Grandbois might have manufactured the defense.
“There was also evidence that he had filed for disability benefits in the weeks before the shooting and may have exaggerated his symptoms,” MacPherson said.
“He told his sister-in-law that he expected to get disability benefits because he knew how to fool the psychologists. On the day of the offense, he drove to a friend’s house to pick up ammunition and sent his daughters off,” he said.
“Although he later told defense psychiatrists that he was guided by a voice in his head at the time of the shooting, he did not mention that voice in his first conversation with police.”
Although Grandbois claimed he was unable to understand the moral gravity of the murder when he shot his wife, the jury ultimately did not believe it.
The Crown cited no psychiatric evidence and Grandbois was convicted of second-degree murder.
Grandbois died Thursday at the Saskatoon Regional Psychiatric Center. He had been serving an indeterminate sentence since October 1998. He was 65 years old.