A Nova Scotia man has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the shocking stabbing death of a man inside a downtown Halifax optometry office in 2021.
In a decision handed down Thursday, a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge rejected 28-year-old Cymon Felix Cormier’s defence that he was not criminally responsible on account of a mental disorder (NCRMD).
“The evidence is overwhelming that the accused intentionally, deliberately and after planning (did) commit the murder of Mr. Nader,” Justice Christa M. Brothers wrote in her decision.
Tony Nader, 55, was an optometrist at Insight Optometry on Brunswick Street and had previously been in a relationship with Cormier’s mother.
On Dec. 30, 2021, Nader was working with a customer when Cormier came into the business.
“Without uttering any words to Mr. Nader, Cymon Cormier repeatedly stabbed Mr. Nader with a knife that he had brought with him,” the decision laid out.
“After what can only be described as a frenzied attack, with Mr. Cormier relentlessly pursuing Mr. Nader throughout the optometry clinic, Mr. Cormier left Insight. Video surveillance footage shows him running, jogging and walking, while discarding clothing and other items he had with him.”
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Brothers said that during Cormier’s trial, which began last fall, the court reviewed video surveillance, photographs and “significant (online) search histories.”
As well, the trial heard from medical experts, with the Crown and defence each calling a psychiatrist to the stand.
“Both highly qualified psychiatrists agree that Mr. Cormier was mentally ill, but disagree as to whether his mental illness met the standard set out at s. 16 of the Criminal Code (NCRMD),” Brothers wrote.
Dr. Julian Gojer, who had been called by the defence, told the court he thought Cormier had “delusions of persecution that people were conspiring to kill him and delusions of grandeur that he had special abilities,” the decision read.
Cormier had alleged sexual and physical abuse by Nader and his mother.
“Dr. Gojer noted that ‘the description of the sexual abuse does not add up and its emergence at the age of 19 years seems to indicate that the delusional thinking began at about that time and he retro-actively applied his beliefs as delusional memories,’” the decision added.
Cormier’s brother testified he wasn’t aware of any sexual abuse. He said that Nader had “acted as a father figure” to them, “taking on a parental role,” the decision noted.
Evidence brought into trial included search and online histories on Cormier’s electronic device. Terms such as “Tony Nader,” “Insight Optometry,” and websites on personality disorders and sexual abuse were found.
On Dec. 1, 2021, the device searched “insanity defence.”
Brothers said Cormier’s explanations for his actions “become more elaborate over time” and concluded they were “quite dubious.”
“All demonstrate that the accused had the specific intent for murder, committed the acts as charged and was not incapable of understanding the moral wrongfulness of his act,” the decision read.
“He was not deprived of his volition by any psychosis or delusion. In fact, much of the evidence calls into question his malingering, including his inconsistent reporting, search history, intoxication and amnesia claims.”
The first-degree murder conviction comes with an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.
Cormier was also found guilty of assault causing bodily harm for hitting a customer at the store with the butt of the knife during the attack.
He will be sentenced next month.
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