A Toronto mother who threw her four-month-old son down a garbage chute, killing him, has been found not criminally responsible (NCR) due to a mental disorder.
Karessa Edwards, 30, was psychotic at the time, acting on command auditory hallucinations, a forensic psychiatrist testified. She pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.
On November 20, 2024, Edwards carried Azuri to the garbage room and threw him down the chute to the compactor. She then climbed or jumped after him, suffering abrasions. The baby's father, Sadiki Bacchas, found him after Edwards said she didn't know where he was but thought he was in the chute. Azuri died from blunt impact injuries or compression.
Forensic psychiatrist Mark Pearce testified Edwards has schizophrenia, with symptoms since 2015. She heard voices through walls for months, commanding her to dispose of the baby. She didn't know the wrongfulness of her actions. The court ordered her to a psychiatric hospital under the Ontario Review Board.