From Dr. Joel Watts The Case of Luka Rocco Magnotta: A Forensic Adventure Down the Rabbit Hole

Early on Monday, June 18th, the detectives provided me a run-down of some of the evidence accumulated to date so I might understand who I was dealing with that morning. At that meeting, little information was shared about Magnotta’s history of mental health problems. A few hours later, I met Dr. Thomas Barth at the jail. He informed me that for about a week, he had been treating Magnotta with antipsychotic medication. Magnotta was described as quite unwell and psychotic. Dr. Barth mentioned that Magnotta reported suffering from schizophrenia for many years. Schizophrenia is a serious psychotic illness that causes individuals to lose touch with reality. In Magnotta’s case, he had delusions (fixed false beliefs) that he was being watched and filmed by a witch named ‘Debbie’. He also believed he had been persecuted by a person called ‘Manny’, in addition to then-Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. Magnotta complained of auditory hallucinations (hearing voices that were not audible to others). Dr. Barth noted that Magnotta’s emotional expression was typical of floridly psychotic individuals (he was frightened, suspicious, and withdrawn). In the various media reports on Magnotta up to that point, I had heard that he might have a mental illness. As such, I was somewhat sceptical of the information provided by Dr. Barth. I was likely also biased in this way due to the seemingly organized and planned nature of Jun Lin’s murder, the video’s production, and Magnotta’s escape to Europe. I knew that psychotic individuals are capable of planning and organized behaviour, but my forensic training had taught me to consider the possibility that he was faking ‘mad’, especially given the seriousness of his case and charges. My scepticism was on high alert when I met him, despite his presentation being just like Dr. Barth had said. I was surprised by how dramatically unwell Magnotta appeared. I thought that perhaps he was skilfully putting on a show. Nagging at the back of my mind, however, was the fact that he would have had to be an exceedingly good actor to pull off such a convincing presentation of psychosis. In retrospect, judging by his lack of success in the acting profession to date, this is unlikely. Dr. Barth also told me that he had experience working with forensic populations (that is, with people who might try and fake mental illness) and he was convinced of the genuineness of his illness. He confirmed that he had observed Magnotta consistently show signs of psychosis for a week, including symptoms rarely faked, so-called negative symptoms, such as a flattened emotional expression. As planned, officials brought Magnotta to our aircraft at the Berlin airport. He was taken into Montreal police custody, read his rights, and informed of his arrest and charges. He was then shackled in a middle-aisle seat. We sat on the sweltering Berlin tarmac during a two-hour delay due to a last-minute jet engine malfunction, which needed to be repaired. Dr. Barth had given me a discharge summary and medications that I would dispense during the flight. As odd as it may seem, this too was a first. Psychiatrists (and most doctors, for that matter) are almost never the ones to give patients their oral medications. This is typically the role of nurses. I gave Magnotta antipsychotic medications at the prescribed times and recorded the details. He had very little to say during the flight and behaved himself. He asked politely to use the washroom and for a blanket when he was cold. When I offered to listen if he wanted to talk with me, he declined. In an odd, childlike tone of voice, he said, “I don’t want to make any statements.” Near the end of the trip, the flight plan needed to be changed. German officials had announced they had released Magnotta into Canadian custody and this had tipped off the media. This, plus the two-hour delay prior to take-off had made the prospect of a media circus at the airport a real possibility. Due to security concerns, we landed in Mirabel, a smaller airport north of Montreal. There was considerable media presence, all the same. Due to Magnotta’s relatively calm behaviour and lack of any suicidal or threatening behaviour, my role came to a close when he was escorted off the plane. I was driven home, with much to reflect upon.