Alberta man declared not criminally responsible in mother’s death

A judge says an Alberta man is not criminally responsible in the death of his mother, who he thought was possessed by Satan.

Alexander James Thorpe was arrested in January after showing up at an Airdrie car dealership nude, except for a gold cross around his neck, covered in blood.

He told police and E-M-S officials that he was told by Jesus to kill Satan, who had taken over his mother, Melanie Lowen’s, body.

Justice Suzanne Bensler says it’s clear Thorpe was suffering from a mental disorder at the time and was incapable of knowing it was wrong.

“There is only one issue before me. Is Mr. Thorpe not criminally responsible by reason of a mental disorder,” said Bensler.

“I am satisfied on a balance of probabilities that Mr. Thorpe has met both requirements.”

Thorpe will remain at the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre for up to 90 days before he appears before the Alberta Review Board, which will determine his fate.

A psychiatrist testified Thorpe had a type of bipolar disorder with manic and psychotic episodes.

Dr. Kenneth Hashman initially found Alexander James Thorpe, who is 21, fit to stand trial in the death of Melanie Lowen, whose body was found at her home in Airdrie, north of Calgary, in January.

But he recommended a further assessment questioning whether he was criminally responsible after finding he suffered from a type of bipolar disorder that can cause episodes of psychosis with hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking and a lack of awareness of reality.

Hashman said stress is often what brings on an episode and it could have been good stress from his attending “Passion” in Atlanta, a gathering for young people that gave him a spiritual high.

The Christian event attracts up to 60,000 young people, aged 18 to 25, each year.

Hashman said after his attendance, Thorpe became preoccupied with faith and spirituality.

“He developed various signs and symptoms that were later attributed to a mental disorder of psychotic proportions,” Hashman testified.

“He was having some form of spiritual awakening, so all consistent with a psychotic disturbance that was evolving at the time,” he added.

“He became paranoid and was concerned that he was being watched or targeted by powerful individuals or an evil entity and that is important because he ultimately determined that is mother was an evil entity or Satan and, as a result, it was ‘kill or be killed’ at the time of the offence.”

READ MORE: Alberta man said Jesus told him to ‘Kill Satan,’ mother

Thorpe told law enforcement and paramedics that Satan had taken control of his mother and he needed to kill her.

He repeated his belief to health-care professionals during his assessment.

“He had to sacrifice his mother to prove he was a true believer,” Hashman said.

“She was not even my mom. I had no inhibition.’ She was just a prop. He believed that Satan had taken hold of his mother. He felt compelled to finish it or Satan would come after him. It was a test of faith.”

Hashman said he believed that Thorpe had met the criteria for not being criminal responsible. He said the accused had only fragmented memories of what happened and the psychotic episode happened over a matter of days.

“Nobody realized what was happening, including his mother. He had no moral compass.”