Crown's psychiatric expert testifies at Saskatoon murder trial

The trial of a Saskatoon woman charged with murdering her five-year-old son heard from another psychiatric expert on Thursday, who said Kellie Johnson was still making rational decisions, even though she was a paranoid schizophrenic.

Johnson faces a first-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of her son Jonathan Vetter. Police found Vetter with fatal injuries in a home on Avenue R on Jan. 4, 2014. He died at the scene.

In an agreed statement of facts, court heard that Johnson stabbed her son to death in his sleep with a knife she had bought two weeks earlier.

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Crown's rebuttal witness

Dr. Olubankole Obikoya took the stand Thursday at Saskatoon's Court of Queen's Bench, to give rebuttal testimony in the murder trial. Okiboyahas beena psychiatrist at Saskatchewan Hospital in North Battleford, Sask.since 2002. He did an assessment on Johnson in February 2014, about a month after the stabbing death incident.

Obikoya said in his meeting with Johnson, the voice Johnson was hearing in her head, known as "the woman", came out.

During the interview, Johnson told the psychiatrist she could have stopped herself, but didn't. He added Johnson showed that she had the capacity to make rational decisions, starting with buying and hiding the knife she used in the killing, two weeks before the murder.

Dr. Obikoya corroborated earlier testimony that Johnson was a paranoid schizophrenic, but he told the court that doesn't mean she was robbed of her ability to make choices. He said the fact that Johnson made the decision to buy the knife in advance showed she had the ability to make choices for herself.

Johnson made rational choices leading up to murder

Obikoya added the way Johnson carried out the stabbing is further evidence of her ability to make rational decisions.

Johnson didn't just wake up in the middle of the night, go and get a knife from the kitchen and kill her son.She showed indications of rationality, he said.

The doctor said the voice didn't say 'kill your son.' That was simply Johnson's interpretation.

Johnson's trial began in February but was adjourned to this week.

Earlier this week, Chief Psychologist of Saskatchewan Hospital Lindsay Robertson took the stand, testifying that Johnson is still delusional to this day.

Robertson said she met with Johnson six times in the month after the killing, and assessed Johnson days after her son died.

Robertson said the accused's delusions were complex. She said heaven and hell figured prominently, as did the imaginary figure known as "the woman."

Johnson regularly talked about "the woman" during her treatment sessions. At one point, Robertson said "the woman" was torturing her dead son, training him to be a sex offender.

The trial was adjourned until Aug. 19, when lawyers will present final arguments.