Man accused of killing his 2 sisters found unfit to stand trial

A psychiatric assessment of the Ottawa man accused of stabbing his two sisters to death last month has found that he isunfit to stand trial at the present time, according to his defence lawyer.

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Musab A-Noor, 29, was charged with one count each of first-degree murder and second-degree murder after the bodies of his two sisters 29-year-old NasibaA-Noor and 32-year-old Asma A-Noor were foundin their McCarthy Road home the night of Dec. 16.

Musab A-Noormissed several court appearances last month because he was in hospital. On Dec. 23 he was ordered to undergo an assessment at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre to determine his mental fitness to stand trial.

He was expected to hear the results of that assessment in court on Wednesday, but the doctor who prepared the report isn't able to appear in court until Friday.

His defence lawyer, Samir Adam, told reportersthat while he hasn't read the entirereport, it suggests thatMusab A-Nooris unfit to stand trial at the present time.

His client remains in hospital.

'Not in a position to attend'

Last month, Adam said his client was in a "catatonic," non-responsive state.

"His non-attendance reflects that there are some significant mental health issues at play. We'll let the doctors flesh out what exactlythat is," Adam said at the time.

"That's why he's not in court. It's not that he's not in court because he doesn't want to attend, it's because he's notin a position to attend."

He wouldn't comment on whether Musab A-Noor has any diagnosed mental health issues, but saidit's "clear" he has some.

The deaths of theA-Noorsisters were the city's23rdand24thhomicides of 2016.