Richard Bain sings hymns to himself, prays to God while alone in interrogation room
Accused says he has no memory of Sept. 4, 2012 election-night shooting outside the Metropolis
Alone in a police interrogation room two days after the 2012 election night shooting, Richard Bain can be seen with a blanket draped over his shoulders, praying and singing Christian hymns to himself.
His memory of what happened the night of the shooting and the next day is hazy, Bain told the jury in his murder trial on Tuesday. One of the last things he remembered clearly, he said, is popping a series of pills and having a vision of his dead mother.
"I saw my mother in front of me and she said 'Richard, what are they doing to us?'" he testified.
"She was standing there and everything was white and she was standing there in her nightgown."
Bain stands accused of first-degree murder, along with several other charges, for what happened after the self-described vision.
That's when a lighting technician was shot and killed outside the Parti Québécois' victory party at the Metropolis nightclub on Sept. 4. Another person was also seriously injured.
It wasn't until Bain found himself in a police station two days later, sitting across from a detective, that he says he was able to grasp the severity of his situation.
"When I realized I was really in trouble was on Thursday morning at the start of the second interrogation," Bain testified.
'Everything is so black'
It is Bain's second day on the stand. His lawyer, Alan Guttman, is arguing his client is not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder.
On Tuesday, the jury was shown footage from two of Bain's interrogations with police.
The first took place at 5:42 a.m., the morning after the deadly shooting.
Bain can be seen holding his head in his hands. He complains of having a headache from sleeping on the floor.
A police detective asks Bain if he understands what it means to be charged with murder and attempted murder.
"I don't know," he says in the video, mumbling and holding his head in his hands.
"I'm so confused," he tells the detective, adding that it could be because of his medication.
The detective presses Bain about what happened hours before, asking if he remembers certain statements he made to police.
"Everything is so black," Bain replies.
The first interview ended around an hour after it began. Bain told the detective he wasn't feeling well, and was taken away by ambulance.
The second interrogation
Bain's second interrogation began Sept. 6, 2012, after he returns from the Royal Victoria Hospital.
In the video, Bain is seen entering the room shortly after 7 a.m, wearing what appears to be a hospital gown. He's greeted by a detective who hands him a Tim Hortons breakfast and coffee.
After that Bain is left alone to eat his meal.
As the camera rolls, Bain says grace out loud in French: "Merci mon seigneur, merci pour tout," meaning "Thank you, Lord. Thank you for everything."
He eats his breakfast, taking sips of coffee in between.
After finishing, Bain recites the Lord's Prayer in English, and then closes by praying "If I have ever needed you it is now."
Bain's SUV
During the initial interrogation, police appear concerned about the vehicle Bain is believed to have driven to the Metropolis.
A detective asks Bain about a vehicle parked near the nightclub, explaining that he needs to know if it's rigged to a bomb or poses any sort of threat to investigators.
The jury has seen in evidence presented by the Crown that Bain drove a black SUV to the Metropolis the night of the shooting.
But when he's asked about his vehicle in the filmed interrogation, Bain answers that his car is a black Cadillac limousine.
During the same interrogation, the detective asks Bain if he remembers speaking to a lawyer.
He reminds Bain that he asked to speak with well-known human rights lawyer Julius Grey.
"I know Julius Grey," Bain tells the detective.
The investigator explains that they left a message, because it was in the middle of the night and there was no emergency number for the lawyer.
He also reminds Bain that he spoke to a lawyer with legal aid.
But Bain replies, "It's too fuzzy."
Along with the murder charge, Bain also faces three counts of attempted murder, an arson charge and possession of an incendiary device.
He resumes testifying on Wednesday.
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