A hearing is scheduled to take place this afternoon (Wednesday) in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster to determine if the man accused of fatally stabbing an Abbotsford high school student is fit to stand trial.
Gabriel Klein, 22, is charged with second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of 13-year-old Letisha Reimer at Abbotsford Senior Secondary on Nov. 1, 2016.
He is also charged with the aggravated assault of Reimer’s friend (who cannot be named due to a publication ban), who was 14 at the time of the attack.
The case was scheduled to go to trial on May 7, and has currently been before the courts on pre-trial applications related to whether certain evidence should be allowed at his trial.
In initial court appearances, Klein refused to leave his jail cell or talk to his lawyer. In one case, sheriffs had to remove him from his cell and bring him into court in a wheelchair.
He often rocks back and forth in his seat and bites his fingernails.
If Klein is found unfit to stand trial, the proceedings are put on hold and he would likely be detained in the forensic psychiatric hospital in Coquitlam.
Klein would then undergo periodic reviews through the B.C. Review Board and could be returned to court if, at any time in the future, he is deemed to fit to stand trial.
The Criminal Code outlines that a person unfit to stand trail does not understand the nature of the proceedings or the possible consequences and/or is unable to communicate with their lawyer.
Check back for more this afternoon following the hearing.
