Desmond Fatality Inquiry notice; CIGO file photo
The Desmond Fatality Inquiry resumes after a COVID-19-induced hiatus.
The inquiry was called after Lionel Desmond, an Afghanistan war veteran, killed his wife, daughter, mother and himself in their home in Upper Big Tracadie, Guysborough Co. in 2017.
Allen Murray, inquiry counsel and Chief Crown Attorney for the Central Region of the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service, tells The Hawk the inquiry has examined the events leading up to the incident, as well as Desmond’s state of mind in the days before.
“The first session did deal with the events very close in time to the tragedy, and those individuals that dealt with him- police officers and treating health care professionals.”
Murray says that included the first responders who attended the scene of the tragedy.
He says they’ll move further back in time from the incident with this session, and examine the broader conditions leading up to it.
“We’ve been working, to some extent, backward chronologically,” he says. “We will be reaching further back into his life and his treatment when we call evidence in this session.”
Murray says that will include people involved in Desmond’s treatment for PTSD before he returned to the province.
He says family members will call witnesses this session as well.
“We’re going to be hearing from a number of witnesses that will be called by the families- people that they feel are important for the inquiry to hear.”
The inquiry, which was delayed and relocated from the Guysborough Municipal Building to the Port Hawkesbury Justice Centre due to COVID-19 guidelines, is set to resume at 9:30 a.m.; it runs Tuesday-to-Friday for four weeks.
