Richard Bain's tendency to blame antidepressant is red flag for psychiatrist

Richard Bainshowed signs that he might have been faking, or not telling the truth about his mental state, according to a psychiatrist called to testify by the Crown.

Bain isaccused of first-degree murder in the shooting death of lighting technician DenisBlanchette.

He waskilled while standing outside Montreal's Metropolis concert hall on the night of Sept. 4, 2012, while thePartiQubcoiscelebrated its election win inside.

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Psychiatrist Dr. Joel Watts was appointedby the court to perform an assessment of Bain'scriminal responsibility, and on Wednesdayhe was calledtotestify about his findings for the prosecution.

Watts, the court has heard,disagrees with the defence psychiatrist's hypothesisthat the accused murderer was suffering from a psychotic delusion on the night of the deadly shooting.

'Suspicious' information

Wattstold the jury that he met Bain three times in 2015, and during their sessions the accused murderer brought up a drug called Cymbalta out of the blue, "when Iwas asking about something completely unrelated."

Hetestified thatBaininsinuatedthe antidepressant could haveaffected him on the night of the shootingand told him, "Whenyou're on Cymbalta,you can't remember things. Your brain isn't functioning."

When Bainbrought that up without any prompting, Watts said it was a "classic thrusting forward" a red flag for forensic psychiatrists that means a patient could be feigning his mental illness.

In his testimony, Wattsalso referred to an interviewwith Bain's family doctor, Dr. Stan Van Duyse.

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He said thatDuyse recalled a conversation he had with Baina few weeks after the attack.

Duyse said Bain told him he was "high, out of control" or "high as a kite" after taking the Cymbalta.

"It was another example of Mr. Bain putting out there that this behaviourcould potentially be blamed on him taking some dose of something," Watts testified.

"As a forensic psychiatrist, I find that information suspicious, to say the least."

Little evidence of an overdose?

Earlier in the trial, Bain told the jury he recalled taking up to six antidepressant pills possibly Cymbalta or Effexor hours before the shooting.

The defence psychiatrist, Dr. Marie-Frdrique Allard, testified that she does not believe Bain's actions were the result of intoxication, although it is her opinion that Bainshowed signs of an overdose the next morning, during a police interrogation.

Watts told the court he disagrees with that hypothesis as well.

He said he believes Bain's drowsiness the following morning, during a police interrogation, was simply the result of a lack of sleep, and not a symptom of an overdose.

'No one will ever know'

The defence is arguing that Bain should not be held criminally responsiblebecause of a mental disorder.

In the final page of the defence psychiatrist'sreport on Bain's mental state on the night of the alleged murder, Allardwrites:"Unfortunately, I cannot explicitlypronounce myself on a psychotic episode at the time of the criminal acts, but there is a probability (more than 50%) that the delusionalideas had motivated his behaviours."

Earlier Wednesday, the prosecution grilled Allardabouther lack of certainty.

He asked if she felt pressured to diagnose Bain with a mental disorder.

Allardsaid that wasn't true.

She said she wishes she knew for certain what wasrunning throughBain's mind on the night of the shooting, "but no one will ever know."

She added, "What I can say is that it's more likely that Bain's actions were the result of mental illness, more likely than simply anger."