By Sierra Bein
A man was convicted of second-degree murder on April 25 in the death of Ryerson student, Carina Petrache, according to a report by the Toronto Star.
Farshad Badakhshan, 31, admitted to killing his 23-year-old girlfriend in July 2010 but pleaded not criminally responsible due to mental illness.
Badakhshan slit Petrache’s throat, stabbed her multiple times and set fire to the basement room they were both in. He was also set ablaze in the fire and has been left permanently disabled from the burns.
Throughout the trial, which began in January, the jury heard expert forensic psychiatrist testimonies assessing Badakhshan’s sanity to determine if he was mentally competent in July 2010.
Badakhshan’s mother, Sedigheh Moradi, had testified earlier that her son’s mental health began to deteriorate in 2007. She recounted episodes of Badakhshan’s paranoia, including one time when he approached her with a knife with a calm expression. Moradi stated that he felt like people were out to get him.
According to friends of Petrache, Badakhshan was jealous and violent in the relationship with the victim.
Defence attorney, Victoria Rivers, spoke to the jury on March 4, arguing that Badakhshan’s actions were the result of a “psychiatric disorder resistant to anti-psychotic medication.”
Crown attorney, Jennifer Stanton, had previously noted on March 26 that Badakhshan has a history of informing friends that he could rely on his mental illness to “get away with anything.”
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 16.
Leave a Reply