‘I just wish he would die’
Psychiatrist pushes for another review-board hearing for schizophrenic killer Gregory Allan Despres, 42, just three months after last one to argue again for transfer to another facility
Loved ones of a couple killed 20 years ago are distraught and shocked after learning the killer will be back before the New Brunswick review board next week, just three months after the last hearing.
Gregory Allan Despres, 42, formerly of Minto, was deemed not criminally responsible for the April 23, 2005, murders of his elderly next-door neighbours - Fred Fulton and Veronica (“Verna”) DeCarie - due to a mental disorder, and he’s been held in secure psychiatric facilities for almost two decades.
Disposition hearings in his case are regularly held before the New Brunswick review board, which is responsible to oversee and assess treatment efforts for offenders found not criminally responsible.
Despres’ last hearing - held Feb. 12 - unfolded pretty much like almost all those before it, as the board heard he continues to refuse to engage in treatment efforts, and that despite being medicated, manifestations of his schizophrenia persist and he continues to exhibit violent leanings.
Because of a lack of progress, review board chairwoman Rena Levesque directed at the conclusion of the proceeding that Despres’ next appearance before the board would be put off until 2027.