A murder trial is still underway in Kamloops, after a man confessed to killing two people. 

Mitchell McIntyre, of Creston, B.C., was charged with second-degree murder in the death of his neighbour, 56-year-old Julia Howe, on Feb. 6, 2022. He also claimed to have killed another man in Kimberley, 69-year-old David Creamer, on the very same day. 

However, he made these admissions while in psychiatric care. 

During the lengthy voir dire proceedings started last May, Justice Paul Riley heard from the defence and prosecutors over the admissibility of McIntyre乌鸦传媒檚 statements as evidence.

In a written decision released on Nov. 5, Riley decided all of McIntyre's statements to the RCMP and hospital staff from Feb. 7 to 18, 2022 were voluntary and admissible. 

The trial ran from Nov. 12 to 22 and is expected to continue in March.

Deaths deemed non-suspicious

In Riley乌鸦传媒檚 written B.C. Supreme Court decision, he called the initial findings that both deaths were of natural causes to be 乌鸦传媒渁 most unusual feature of this case乌鸦传媒�.

When Howe was found in a pool of blood on her bathroom floor, 乌鸦传媒渋t was believed that she had fallen and suffered some kind of a medical trauma乌鸦传媒� as there were no signs of an altercation or bullet wound.

It wasn't until an autopsy was performed, two days later on Feb. 8, that a bullet was found in Howe's head. The RCMP realized her death was a homicide, and McIntyre became a suspect. 

As for Creamer, there is nothing linking McIntyre to his death, other than statements made to hospital staff. He was found in his Kimberley home, also on Feb. 6, 2022, with a small wound just below his left ear but no signs of a struggle.  

乌鸦传媒淭he first person to observe him, an adult son, assumed Mr. Creamer had banged his head and died of natural causes,乌鸦传媒� said Riley. 乌鸦传媒淎 police officer attended the scene and, after consultation with a coroner, concluded that the death was an accident.乌鸦传媒�

Creamer's body was cremated, leaving behind no forensic evidence for the RCMP to conduct a thorough investigation. No charges have been laid for his death. 

Asking to be locked up 

The morning after Howe乌鸦传媒檚 death, Feb. 7, McIntyre went to the Cranbrook RCMP detachment insisting to be arrested, according to pre-trial documents, but he wouldn乌鸦传媒檛 say why. 

Officers told McIntyre he couldn't be taken into custody without reasonable grounds. 

 乌鸦传媒淵ou need to detain me, because I will harm myself and possibly others,乌鸦传媒� McIntyre is quoted as saying, adding he felt 乌鸦传媒渕entally disturbed".

After asking for a lawyer, he was referred to duty counsel for legal advice. While McIntyre was on the phone in the station, officers learned from the Creston RCMP detachment there had been a 乌鸦传媒渟udden death乌鸦传媒� across the road from where he lived, but it was 乌鸦传媒渄eemed non-suspicious乌鸦传媒�.

McIntyre was then passed along for an interview with an officer in the General Investigations Section. When asked if he caused any harm to Howe, McIntyre did not want to answer.

乌鸦传媒淚 wanna tell you some stuff but I can乌鸦传媒檛 - I乌鸦传媒檓 sorry,乌鸦传媒� McIntyre said.

After several hours of getting nowhere, McIntyre was apprehended under the Mental Health Act and taken to Cranbrook's East Kootenay Regional Hospital (EKRH).

乌鸦传媒業f I wasn乌鸦传媒檛 here, I might do something bad乌鸦传媒�

Within an hour of being admitted, McIntyre started telling doctors and hospital staff that he had shot a woman. 

McIntyre had been reassured that everything he said would be kept within his circle of care, unless it would cause future harm to someone. 

He also spoke of his past conflicts with his neighbour Howe over keeping a dog leashed. 

乌鸦传媒淭he doctors struggled to figure out whether Mr. McIntyre乌鸦传媒檚 statements were reality-based or delusional,乌鸦传媒� said Riley. 乌鸦传媒淎t the same time, for confidentiality reasons, doctors did not want to reveal to the police any more than necessary about the content of what Mr. McIntyre had said in the course of treatment for an apparent psychiatric condition.乌鸦传媒�  

On Feb. 8, when the results of Howe乌鸦传媒檚 autopsy were revealed, the RCMP told hospital staff a suspicious body had been found in Creston but did not provide further details than that.

乌鸦传媒淔rom time to time, the police also tried to get more information from doctors and other hospital staff about what specifically Mr. McIntyre had said about his role in the death of Ms. Howe, about whether he had done anything else wrong, and about whether he posed any ongoing risk of harm to others,乌鸦传媒� said Riley.

乌鸦传媒淭he treating physicians resisted police efforts to obtain disclosure of Mr. McIntyre乌鸦传媒檚 statements about past crimes, taking the position that if the police wanted such information they would have to obtain a court order for Mr. McIntyre乌鸦传媒檚 medical file.乌鸦传媒�

However, the doctors did report McIntyre乌鸦传媒檚 violent thoughts about a list of people he wanted to harm.

On Feb. 11, officers executed a search warrant on McIntyre's car and found a revolver with ammunition matching the bullet fragment found in Howe乌鸦传媒檚 autopsy. 

Meanwhile, McIntyre also confessed to killing his former friend in Kimberley, who he referred to as 乌鸦传媒淒avid Creamly乌鸦传媒�, for betraying him. These details were not disclosed to the RCMP, but a social worker did break confidentiality protocol by asking if there had been any suspicious deaths in that area. 

When McIntyre was informed there had been no report of a murder in Kimberley, he responded with 乌鸦传媒渁pparent shock or perplexity乌鸦传媒�.

At a meeting on Feb. 18 with the RCMP, one of his psychiatrists expressed concern about what would happen when McIntyre left the hospital. 

乌鸦传媒淚f I wasn乌鸦传媒檛 here, I might do something bad,乌鸦传媒� McIntyre had told him, implying he was taking precaution not to hurt others by staying put.

The RCMP didn乌鸦传媒檛 share what they would do when McIntyre was discharged, other than attempt to interview him. They were reluctant to do so while he was still in the hospital, even on a voluntary basis, due to concerns the courts might consider any statements to have been taken under duress.

McIntyre stayed in the EKRH psychiatric unit for three weeks until he was discharged on March 1. He objected to the decision, saying he was a danger to others and needed to 乌鸦传媒渁ccept the rightful consequences乌鸦传媒�.

Second hospital stay

Once again, McIntyre showed up at the Cranbrook RCMP detachment, telling officers he had little money and nowhere to go. 

That night, he was put up in a room at the Lazy Bear Lodge, as it sometimes serves as a homeless shelter in Cranbrook.

After several days out of custody, he returned to the EKRH emergency department on March 5, saying he didn乌鸦传媒檛 乌鸦传媒渇eel right in the head and had thoughts of harming people乌鸦传媒�. 

He was admitted for a second time, on a voluntary basis, even though he had been medically cleared. The doctor believed he should be in custody or transferred to a forensic psychiatric unit, considering the 乌鸦传媒減otentially significant, serious, and severe consequences of what he is telling us乌鸦传媒�.

During his second hospital stay, the RCMP obtained a production order for McIntyre乌鸦传媒檚 medical records. On March 9, an investigator discovered a doctor's note with the confession about someone called 乌鸦传媒淒avid Creamly乌鸦传媒�. After a quick database search, officers confirmed Creamer died on the same day as Howe, approximately 135 kilometres from Creston.

Upon learning this, the officers leading the homicide investigation were angry with the doctors for not sharing timely information about McIntyre乌鸦传媒檚 possible role in a second murder and the subsequent loss of evidence. 

In his written decision, Riley noted that hospital staff were 乌鸦传媒渢rying to respect the limits of patient confidentiality乌鸦传媒�.

Arrest of McIntyre

During his time at EKRH, McIntyre continued telling hospital staff about his intended 乌鸦传媒渉it list乌鸦传媒�.

乌鸦传媒淭he doctors concluded that despite these statements, Mr. McIntyre did not have an identifiable psychiatric condition that required ongoing hospitalization, and that any risk Mr. McIntyre might pose to the safety of the community was a law enforcement concern, not a medical issue,乌鸦传媒� said Riley. 

According to court documents, the RCMP had grounds to arrest McIntyre by March 12 but did not do so. 

It wasn乌鸦传媒檛 until March 16, when McIntyre was discharged from the hospital, officers were at the door waiting to arrest him for Howe乌鸦传媒檚 murder. He has been in custody ever since.

The detailed timeline shows it took over five weeks after Howe's death for the arrest. 

Admissibility of confessions

乌鸦传媒淚 have no difficulty finding that throughout his time at EKRH, Mr. McIntyre had an operating mind,乌鸦传媒� said Riley. 乌鸦传媒淗e was able to understand what he was saying, and that his statements could have legal consequences. He frequently told medical staff that he did not want to say more than he had to, because he was under investigation by the police, and his lawyer had advised him to make no statements.乌鸦传媒� 

Any confessions made onward from Feb. 18 were deemed inadmissible at trial, as the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his statements were made freely and voluntarily.

Once the treating psychiatrist had admitted reluctance to release McIntyre from care, his treatment 乌鸦传媒渢ranscended medical aspects乌鸦传媒� and raised doubt about the relationship between RCMP and hospital staff. 

乌鸦传媒淚t is also a reasonable possibility that at least some of what Mr. McIntyre said to EKRH staff was the product of an indirect inducement, that if he said certain things that caused his treatment providers to believe he was mentally ill, he would be able to prolong his stay in the hospital, and thereby delay his arrest,乌鸦传媒� said Riley.

The trial is scheduled to continue on March 17, for two more weeks if needed.