A court artist sketch shows Guy Turcotte during his appearance at the courthouse, November 14, 2013 in St. Jerome, Que. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike McLaughlin
January 10, 2014 - 8:43 AM
SAINT-JEROME, Que. - The lawyer for a former Quebec doctor who killed his two children says he'll go to the Supreme Court of Canada to seek leave to appeal a court ruling that ordered a new trial for his client.
Jurors originally found Guy Turcotte not criminally responsible for the 2009 deaths when they accepted his argument he could not remember the events and had experienced blackouts.
The Quebec Court of Appeal overturned that verdict last November and ordered a second trial.
A date for the new trial was to be set this morning but Turcotte's lawyer said he wants to go to the Supreme Court to challenge the appeals court ruling.
That prompted a judge to postpone the date-setting until April 4 so he can see what the country's highest court decides.
Turcotte will remain behind bars.
During his high-profile first-degree-murder trial, Turcotte admitted to stabbing his son and daughter a total of 46 times.
He then drank windshield-wiper fluid in what he said was a failed attempt to commit suicide.
Turcotte was later deemed fit for release from a mental institution, where he had been locked up after 46 months in psychiatric care.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014