FREDERICTON - A New Brunswick man accused of killing his two elderly neighbours and beheading one of them will begin a repeat of his murder trial on Monday.
The first trial of 25-year-old Gregory Allen Despres was stopped in April after he suffered a delusional meltdown in a New Brunswick courtroom, insisting he was a pilot and followed the rules of something he called the "super space patrol.''
A provincial review board ruled in July that Despres has responded well to treatment for paranoid schizophrenia and now understands the court proceedings and the two charges of first-degree murder.
He's accused of killing his neighbours, Fred Fulton, 74, and Verna Decarie, 70, in their Minto, N.B., home in 2005. Both had been stabbed repeatedly and Fulton was decapitated.
His head was found in a pillowcase under a kitchen table.
Relatives of Fulton and Decarie attended every day of the first trial, enduring gruesome crime scene video and strange outbursts by Despres.
"Until you go through it and see a member of your family go through what they went through, it's just something you can't describe,'' said Mike Richardson, Fulton's nephew. "Two and a half years later it still doesn't seem real.''
Richardson said the family has lost all confidence in a justice system that has allowed the case to drag on so long.
"They fought for their lives that night, and we're going to continue to fight for justice until we're satisfied with the outcome. Their memory is still vivid in our minds and always will be.''
Minto Mayor Gary DiPaolo said Richardson's concerns with the justice system are echoed throughout the community.
"The same emotions will be surfacing again, and I suspect they'll be tempered with a bit of impatience over the fact that it has taken so long to have this seen through the process,'' he said.
Despres was arrested in Massachusetts on April 26, 2005, shortly after the bodies were found.
He had been allowed to enter the United States at Calais, Maine, a day earlier, even though he was carrying a homemade sword, brass knuckles, knife, pepper spray, chainsaw and a hatchet.
U.S. border authorities took the weapons and fingerprinted Despres, a naturalized U.S. citizen, but let him into the country after he told them he was a marine sniper and an assassin with 700 kills to his credit.
Several border guards testified they could not detain him because he had a valid U.S. passport.
His trial began last January, but it was halted following his outbursts in court, making references to executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, al-Qaida, and the super space patrol.
Psychiatrists and a psychologist have said Despres is no longer troubled by delusions because of new medication.
"We're happy for the family and happy that this matter can now continue on in court,'' Crown prosecutor Paul Hawkins said at the time the decision was made to go ahead with another trial.
As with the first trial, the new case will be heard by judge alone, although it will not be the same judge.
Justice William Grant of the New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench will preside over the proceedings. The trial is scheduled for three weeks.
