Mother's psychiatric health examined as Saskatoon murder trial resumes

The trial of a Saskatoon mom accused of fatally stabbing her youngson resumed on Tuesday.

Kellie Johnson faces a first-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of five-year-old Jonathan Vetter on Jan. 4, 2014. Her trial began in February but was adjourned to this week.

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On Tuesday, court heard from a University of Saskatchewan forensic psychiatrist Dr. Mansfield Mela who met with the accused in April 2014, to assess her mindset during the stabbing incident.

From histime with Johnson, Mela told the courtroom Johnson was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia when he met with her and at the time of the stabbing.

The court heard two weeks prior to the incident, Johnson went off her medicationand bought the murder weapon at Walmart. Mela told the courtroom Johnson had an elaborate hallucination 24 hours prior to killing her son, and Mela said Johnson wanted to "lovingly preserve her son from going to hell."

Mela testified Johnson said she knew the action would hurt her son, but still believed that she was doing the right thing.

In and out ofpsychiatric hospital

The court also heard about Johnson's past, in and out of psychiatric hospitals over the past decade.

Records show Johnson first showed signs of mental illness in 2006 when she believed, without basis, that her boyfriend was abusing her older son. In 2006, Johnson first mentions the woman in her mind giving her orders. The accused waslaterdiagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, adjustment disorder and paranoid schizophrenia.

Johnson also reported being visited by dead family members, who, at one point, convince her not to wear shoes for months and to walk in the middle of the street to satisfy Jesus.

The court heard the medication Johnson took weakened the belief in the voices she heard but did not remove them, also, she was off her medicationon the day she killed her son.

Johnson admitted to stabbing her son while he slept. In Januuary 2014 police were called to a house on Avenue R S.followingreports that a child was injured. JonathanVetterdied at the scene.

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At the start of her trial, Johnson's lawyer said the question is whether she can be held criminally responsible.

"What is her diagnosis? I'm not going to go into that, because there are 40 pages of psychiatric and psychological reports that detail all that," said defence lawyer Leslie Sullivan.

In the opening days of the trial, the Crown played a two-hour videotaped interview with Johnson made by police after she was arrested.In thetape, she talked about having hallucinations and her interactions with a "bad lady" who she said had power over her.

Court adjourned at noon on Tuesday until Wednesday at 10 a.m. CST.