Warning: This story contains disturbing details and strong language
THUNDER BAY - Courtney LaBelle, accused in the stabbing death of her 11-year-old son on Jan. 1, 2020, testified in her own defense Monday, saying she could not remember crucial events, while a forensic psychiatrist also testified to her state of mind that morning.
Defense counsel Gil Labine opened his case Monday on the fifth day of the second-degree murder trial against LaBelle, 37, who is accused of stabbing her 11-year-old son 31 times.
She has pleaded not guilty to that charge and another for aggravated assault. An order issued by the court prevents the publication of the victim’s name.
In his opening submission, Labine emphasized the relationship between a mother and a child while outlining LaBelle’s defense.
“The strongest connection between two human beings that exists is between a mother and a biological child," he said.
“The only way a mother is going to hurt a child is if there is some kind of intervention that occurs that prevents her from understanding what she is doing. That intervention is a drug-induced psychosis. That is the evidence we are going to address today.”
The evidence included calling LaBelle to testify, as well as a forensic psychiatrist who examined her following her arrest.
During testimony, LaBelle provided details of her past including being born in Thunder Bay and having family connections to Ginoogaming First Nation.
Her parents separated when she was nine years old. She had two children and separated with the father four or five years ago.
In August 2019, LaBelle said her mother and stepfather passed away unexpectedly in a car accident.
“It had a very big impact,” she said. “She was always there. Even though towards her death we didn’t have the greatest relationship, she was still there.”
Asked about her drug use, LaBelle said she began using drugs between the ages of 17 and 18, including smoking cannabis, then using opioids like fentanyl, and later cocaine and crack cocaine.
Labine asked LaBelle if her drug use increased following her mother’s death, to which she said it did, but added it did little to offer her comfort.
“I felt more alone and I still had to cope with raising my kids,” she said. “[. . .] I did them out of aggression or anger. I felt fed up.”
LaBelle reported trying to minimize her drug use, but continuing to use two or three times a week after making sure she'd obtained everything she and her kids needed.
On the night of Dec. 31, 2019 and into the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2020, LaBelle said she was consuming drugs and purchased between $200 and $300 worth of crack.
She said she had 10 to 15 hits of crack before being picked up by her father and brother, and taken to her late mother’s residence to help pack up her things.
LaBelle said she purchased more crack while there and had another 10 hits. She was unsure of exactly how much she purchased, but believed it to be a ‘ball,’ or approximately 3.5 grams, and said she consumed it all.
Asked about her relationship with her son, LaBelle said she loved him.
“Did you have any reason to hurt your son?” Labine asked.
“No. I was struggling and trying to cope with the separation between me and their father and [the victim] had his struggles too, but I wouldn’t want to harm him that way,” she said.
During cross-examination by Crown attorney Andrew Sadler, LaBelle was asked about her drug consumption leading up to the events.
LaBelle's brother, Arnold LaBelle, indicated in testimony last week he did not see her purchase or consume any drugs that evening while at their mother’s house. However, Courtney LaBelle testified she called someone to purchase drugs in front of him.
Arnold LaBelle also testified he and Courtney LaBelle left their mother’s residence and attended a party at his friend’s house.
Sadler asked LaBelle to take the jury through what happened after she left that house approximately 10 or 15 minutes after arriving.
According to LaBelle, she attempted to call a taxi but was unable to get one. She then returned to her mother’s house, but said she didn't want to go back in because she didn’t want to get into another fight with her sister.
She then walked to Edward Street and down to Donald Street, where she stopped at a bus shelter.
“That is where my mind blurs up,” she said. “I can remember pretty much all the stuff that happened right there, there’s like a gap missing in my mind from that bus box to my sister’s house where I was arrested.”
LaBelle said the only memory she has of what took place inside the Victoria Avenue residence was the interaction with her father, Eugene LaBelle.
“What I remember is just being beaten by my dad,” she said, adding she was trying to reach for a knife and that he clenched her hand around the blade, cutting her palm.
Eugene LaBelle testified previously to waking up and seeing Courtney LaBelle standing over the victim with a knife making a stabbing motion downward. He then tackled her to the floor and called to his partner to call 911, and held her down until police arrived.
Sadler asked LaBelle if she had previously blocked out traumatic experiences from her past. LaBelle responded that she wouldn't characterize it as 'blocked,' because she does remember some trauma from throughout her life.
LaBelle also testified to sometimes feeling paranoid while she was on drugs, as well as using them to cope with feelings of sadness, abandonment, and loneliness.
When asked about her relationship to her son, LaBelle said she would sometimes feel anger or frustration toward him, while describing him as also experiencing a difficult time in his life and sometimes lashing out.
“That would lead to my doing drugs,” she said. “There would be times when I would seek out my mother or ask my sisters to take him and that would never happen, and I would have to deal with that, and I did. I managed any which way I could, and if that meant taking drugs, then I did, because I was there.”
Forensic psychiatrist testifies to LaBelle’s state of mind
Labine also called forensic psychiatrist Dr. Maryana Kravtsenyuk to testify Monday. Kravtsenyuk interviewed LaBelle on three occasions after her arrest and prepared a report in December 2020.
Giving particular emphasis to video surveillance footage from the booking room at the Thunder Bay Police Service headquarters that shows LaBelle acting erratically and screaming, Labine asked Kravtsenyuk her opinion of LaBelle’s mental state.
“In my opinion, Ms. LaBelle was under the influence of substances, most likely stimulants,” she said. “Intoxication was present with drug-induced psychosis.”
Kravtsenyuk added that the influence of substances would have affected LaBelle’s ability to appreciate her actions.
During cross-examination, Sadler focussed on the report Kravtsenyuk prepared based on her interviews with LaBelle.
He highlighted LaBelle's statements related to blocking out or choosing not to remember certain aspects of her childhood, saying she used drugs when angry, that she would not be angry with her son, but frustrated, and describing her emotional state on Jan. 1, 2020 as feeling alone, angry with a lot of people, and paranoid.
Regarding the stabbing incident, LaBelle told Kravtsenyuk she didn't remember and only recalled her dad "beating the shit out of me."
LaBelle also said she wasn't told exactly what happened until several months after the incident, that she didn’t feel like her son was dead, and she tried to block out a lot of things.
Kravtsenyuk’s report concluded: “Although Ms. LaBelle may have been altered in her mental state at the material time, there is inadequate information to suggest she was deprived of the direct physical consequences of her actions, therefore she retained the ability to appreciate the nature and quality of her actions.”
Kravtsenyuk confirmed to Sadler that remained her opinion.
“Does that mean, to you, that she would have been able to understand at that time that stabbing someone in the chest would likely cause their death?” Sadler asked.
“My understanding is she was still able to appreciate that it would be harmful,” Kravtsenyuk said. “Whether it would cause death, I’m unable to conclusively state so. Lethality of her action, in my opinion, was still within the degree of her ability to appreciate. That is what I mean when I describe the ability to appreciate the nature and quality of her actions in part of that assessment.”
According to Kravtsenyuk, an individual suffering from psychosis could be driven by delusions or misperceptions of reality to commit lethal acts in an effort to protect themself, appreciating the lethality of such an act but not the wrongfulness of it.
However, she also said LaBelle never stated any paranoid delusions about her son, nor evidence of any specific delusions during the stabbing.
Kravtsenyuk added that an unconscious defense mechanism for those experiencing trauma can include a diminished ability to recall traumatic events.
“Is it not... just as likely, or more likely, that this is a case of her lack of memory [rather] than a loss of control over her actions?” Sadler asked.
“In my opinion, it’s more likely that she was so impaired from substances that were consumed that she lost ability to recall pertinent memories during that time,” Kravtsenyuk said.
“If she, at the time of the offence, would have been able to understand the consequences, would she not then have had control over her actions?” Sadler asked.
“She would more likely have control over her actions,” Kravtsenyuk replied.
During re-examination, Labine asked Kravtsenyuk about her conclusions relating to LaBelle’s understanding of the moral wrongfulness of her actions.
“In my opinion, as stated, if she was acting in the belief she needed to attack her son by her delusional thinking at the time of intoxication, she would have been deprived of the moral wrongfulness of her actions at the material time,” she said.
The trial has been adjourned to Thursday morning, when closing submissions are expected to be presented before the jury.
