A veterans’ hospital psychiatrist says it was clear to him Lionel Desmond was paranoid.
Dr. Robert Ouellette, who treated Desmond at Ste. Anne’s Hospital in Quebec, was the first doctor to diagnose Desmond with mixed personality traits, including obsessive and paranoid traits.
He gave evidence on the ninth day the Desmond Fatality Inquiry Tuesday.
Dr. Ouellette says Desmond’s paranoia extended to his wife, the people around him, and the healthcare team trying to treat him; which made it challenging to establish trust with the former infantryman, who resisted medication of all kinds.
“The phase he used, I remember it quite well, and I did put it in the file in my assessment, he said, ‘doctor, don’t take the Desmond out of me,'” he says. “‘Don’t take the Desmond out of me, because something can happen.'”
Dr. Ouellette says Desmond used phrases like ‘demon’ and ‘beast’ to describe the way he felt, which the doctor says showed he didn’t have the tools to describe what he was feeling.
The doctor says it was clear to him, however, Desmond had no interest increasing his current medication, or using new ones.
“He didn’t want to take medication. He became angry. He became, even, a little aggressive with me.”
Dr. Ouellette says medication was critical to address Desmond’s mental health and anger issues.
Desmond killed his wife, daughter, mother, and then himself in their Upper Big Tracadie home in 2017.
