HALIFAX -- The Halifax man who killed his mother and attempted to bury her in the backyard of their home has been found not criminally responsible.
Ryan Richard Lamontagne, 27, was initially charged with second-degree murder and offering an indignity to human remains, after the body of his mother was found in the backyard of the housing cooperative where the two lived in Oct. 2019.
Court documents reveal 65-year-old Linda Lamontagne died a brutal and violent death.
On Wednesday, Justice Josh Arnold ruled in a 43-page decision that Lamontagne would not be held responsible because of a mental disorder, specified as ‘undiagnosed schizophrenia’.
Lamontagne’s lawyer says it was the outcome they expected.
“We had a unanimous decision from two different psychiatrists, so no surprise. A difficult case, I think for everyone,” said defence lawyer Brad Sarson.
"Mr. Lamontagne, I know he is relieved this part of it is over. Obviously, he'll be carrying this with him for the rest of his life, but I know the court proceedings were making him anxious, the whole process, and so that's now behind him. He can start to move on, I guess."
Lamontagne has been housed at the East Coast Forensic Hospital since the murder and will remain there under the care of the Nova Scotia review board.
On Oct. 22, 2019, Halifax Regional Police responded to a report of suspicious circumstances at the home in the 6300 block of Willow Street around 7:30 a.m.
Officers found a woman’s body in the backyard of the home. A man was also in the backyard and he was arrested at the scene.
