Judge puts double-murder trial on hold

The double-murder trial of Gregory Despres in Frederictonwas puton holdThursday until the end of March as the accusedundergoes another psychiatric assessment.

Judge Judy Clendenning ordered the adjournment after Despres went on a 10-minute rant accusing his lawyer of working for al-Qaeda and executed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

He also demanded his lawyer be fired, but the judge denied his request.

Despres, 24,is being tried on two counts of murder in the grisly deaths of his elderly neighbours, Fred Fulton and his wife, Verna Decarie, in their Minto, N.B., home in 2005.

Court had not been in session since Monday, when Clendenning ruled that testimony from Fulton's grandson during a voir dire hearing, on previous altercations between Despres and members of Fulton's family, was pertinent to the trial.

Lawyer Ed Darrah, who is representing Despres, asked for the assessment, telling the court his client was not fit to stand trial.