MANDEL: Accused serial killer fit to stand trial, judge rules

If she was “angling” to be declared unfit so she could return to hospital and avoid going to trial, the accused triple killer is out of luck.

Sabrina Kauldhar, charged with the shocking three-day murder spree last October that claimed the lives of three Ontarians, has been found mentally fit to stand trial.

Dressed in her usual attire — black headscarf, prison lime green sweatshirt and black sweatpants — Kauldhar, 30, showed no emotion as Ontario Court Justice Russell Silverstein ruled that she’s improved enough, thanks to anti-psychotic medication, to now participate in the trial process. She faces one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder involving three slayings that took place over three consecutive days in Toronto, Niagara Falls and Hamilton.

“It stands to reason that if most of the symptoms of the defendant’s mental illness have resolved through treatment, it is also likely that her unfitness to stand trial, another earlier symptom of her illness, has also resolved,” Silverstein said in his decision Wednesday.

“I find Ms. Kauldhar now fit to stand trial.”

Arrested in October 2024, the unresponsive accused killer was deemed unfit to stand trial in March and was ordered to undergo 60 days of psychiatric treatment at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

At Kauldhar’s second fitness hearing last week, Dr. Amina Ali testified for the Crown that Kauldhar, diagnosed with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, was given two anti-psychotic medications at CAMH and is no longer showing any outward symptoms of her mental illness — she isn’t hearing voices or having delusions or hallucinations.

Kauldhar’s lawyer, Rick Frank, had argued that his client doesn’t understand the serious charges she’s facing. She continues to respond in monosyllables, he complained, and it’s impossible for him to get the instructions he needs to prepare her defence.

Silverstein deferred to the expert.

“Dr. Ali has immense experience treating and observing patients ruled unfit who are sent to CAMH for treatment. Her opinion as to the defendant’s state of mind carries great weight, and I accept it. Moreover, her opinion makes sense,” he said.

The psychiatrist told the court last week that while Kauldhar used to be unresponsive, she now communicates with staff about her needs. When she met her before the hearing, Ali said the accused killer was the most responsive she’s seen and Kauldhar repeatedly urged her to send her back for treatment rather than returning her to prison where she claimed she’s not safe.

That request made an impression on the judge last week who mused that Kauldhar could be “angling to be found unfit” so she could be moved back to CAMH. “It demonstrates some sophisticated, purposeful behaviour on her part.”

But that wish has been denied — for now.

Her lawyer told Silverstein that he’s considering bringing an application to have the court order Kauldhar detained in a hospital to ensure that she receives the treatment she needs to remain fit to stand trial.

The killing spree allegedly began Oct. 1, when Toronto Police were called to a basement apartment in the Junction and found the body of Kauldhar’s roommate, 66-year-old Trinh Thi Vu.