A major part of the defence in a Metro Vancouver murder case was abandoned June 19 as lawyers said they wouldn’t seek a finding of not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder (NCRMD).
Everton Javaun Downey has admitted to stabbing his girlfriend Melissa Blimkie at Burnaby's Metrotown mall Dec. 19, 2021 but pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.
Downey’s B.C. Supreme Court trial began in January 2024 with the Crown saying the main issue would be Downey's mental state at the time he stabbed her — whether he was suffering from a mental disorder rendering him not criminally responsible or whether he had the criminal intent to commit murder.
"I guess I’m dying,” were the last words 25-year-old Blimkie ever spoke after being stabbed in a stairwell.
She uttered them to two strangers who — following her screams — had come upon her clutching her bleeding abdomen.
By the time emergency crews arrived, Blimkie was unresponsive.
She was pronounced dead at Royal Columbian Hospital a short time later.
The court has heard admissions that Downey fled the scene immediately after the stabbing and made his way around Metrotown, interacting with multiple people before being arrested about one hour after the stabbing.
Downey has testified in his own defence.
"I loved Melissa; I would never do something like that to her," he said.
but proceeded in segments to accommodate the preparation of psychiatric reports and the schedules of the lawyers involved.
The Crown told the court at the start of trial that Downey did not admit how many times he stabbed Blimkie or that he caused her death.
Crown prosecutor Brendan McCabe told Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes Jan. 16 that Blimkie suffered 15 stab wounds.
Before McCabe spoke, defence lawyer Andrew Cochrane told Holmes the defence was abandoning its NCRMD application after a doctor changed his opinion in the case.
He said the defence could no longer meet its evidentiary burden on the issue.
And, added McCabe, the only evidence before the court that Downey could have been suffering from a mental disorder at the time came from the accused himself.
The prosecutor told Holmes Downey was not a credible witness, and that his story was internally inconsistent and kept changing.
“The defence has failed to prove he was suffering from a mental disorder that left him incapable of understanding the nature and quality of his actions and that it was wrong,” McCabe said.
“He stabbed her multiple times and left her there to die,” McCabe said.
Still, Cochrane said, “the Crown has not proven the requisite intent for murder beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The case resumes June 23.
'Sketched out'
Downey and Blimkie met in 2019 through a mutual friend and started dating within a couple of months, according to Downey's testimony.
He said his relationship with her after they moved into their North Vancouver condo in the summer of 2021 was "good" and he was "happy" but "bored" because of COVID-19 restrictions.
In the months leading up to the fatal stabbing, however, he said he began to believe he was being watched and followed and drugged.
He said it began when he discovered a computer chip in his B.C. identification card.
He examined Blimkie's card and discovered hers had one too, but he didn't talk to her about it, he said.
"It had me sketched out," he told the court.
Downey said he noticed people watching him when he was in public and that things in the apartment had been "messed with."
He said he believed strangers and Blimkie were also drugging him with a white powder.
He said he believed someone was talking into Blimkie's ear, telling her what to do.
On one occasion, he said he saw her put a white powder in his drink and he grabbed her and hit her in the face.
At other times, people would throw the white powder in his face, he said.
When asked if he had ever notified police or a doctor about his concerns, he said no.
By the time Downey and Blimkie arrived at Metrotown mall for Christmas shopping on the morning of Dec. 19, Downey said he was "sketched out," tired and frightened.
Then, before they entered the mall, he said Blimkie threw white powder into his face.
"I kind of blacked out," he said.
"After we entered the sliding doors, I lost it. I was hearing voices, 'She's going to kill you! She's going to set you up! She's going to kill you!' and I just remember not being able to control myself."
When asked why he ran away after stabbing Blimkie, he said he believed someone was trying to kill him.
After running away, Downey had also changed into clothes he took from a Metrotown apartment building.
When asked why he had done that, Downey said he was trying to change his identity to evade whoever was after him, and he believed his clothes were bugged.
Cross-examination
McCabe began his cross-examination of Downey on Nov. 26, 2024.
He began by asking Downey if, during his three years in custody he has ever been prescribed any medications to address any psychotic symptoms, hallucinations or delusions.
"No," Downey said.
McCabe also took aim at information Downey did and did not tell two forensic psychiatrists who assessed him.
For example, Downey agreed he had not told the doctors he was dealing drugs during the time he was with Blimkie.
"You understand to a certain extent it's the opinion of those two doctors that will play a large role in how this case is ultimately decided, correct?" McCabe asked.
"Yes," Downey said.
With files from Cornelia Naylor