GUYSBOROUGH: Hours after retired Cpl. Lionel Desmond called his psychotherapist and told her his wife asked for a divorce, the former rifleman fatally shot his wife, mother, and 10-year-old daughter before turning the gun on himself.
On February 12, it was the first time the Fatality Inquiry looking into their deaths heard that Shanna had requested a divorce from her husband.
Previous testimony indicated, after his discharge in 2015, the Afghanistan war veteran and his wife would frequently argue to the point, she’d ask him to leave for a night or two.
Catherine Chambers, a private psychotherapist based in Antigonish, who specializes in treating veteran and first responders with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), testified she was contracted by Veterans Affairs Canada in the fall of 2016 to provide counseling services to Lionel.
“Mr. Desmond shared that he wants to have a happy and healthy home life and a healthy relationship with his wife,” Chambers’ psychotherapy assessment reads. “He would also like to sleep better and find ways of dealing with intrusive memories and flashbacks.”
In the wake of the tragedy, Cpl. Desmond’s family and friends have long complained the former rifleman didn’t receive the help he desperately needed as he tried to transition to civilian life.
Chambers told the inquiry she conducted two assessment sessions with the 33-year-old war veteran in 2016, on December 2 and 15.
She described the individual she first met as “meek and childlike” who slumped in his chair, giving her the impression of hopelessness and had issues speaking in a liner manner. Despite being “polite, well-groomed and soft-spoken” Cpl. Desmond displayed a “flat affect” when talking about troubling or emotional issues.
“He seemed to be struggling,” Chambers testified.
While she told the inquiry Cpl. Desmond admitted there was ongoing conflicts with his wife, Chambers truly believed he “deeply loved his wife and wanted a happy life with her.”
Chambers also testified during her assessments with Cpl. Desmond, he spoke about being the best father and husband that he could be.
“The impression that I got was that Mr. Desmond loved his wife tremendously and regretted the fact they often argued,” she said. “He wanted to rebuild his family.”
When Chambers asked Cpl. Desmond about suicide, he didn’t appear to have a plan or any real intent, so he was deemed as a low risk. He did however engage in “frequent, passive suicidal ideation,” by claiming he wished he’d been blown-up in Afghanistan.
The psychotherapist testified Cpl. Desmond told her the only reason stopping him was he wanted to stay alive was so he could be there for his wife and daughter.
Chambers indicated her practice is to help her clients “rewire the brain” and to teach it to stop signaling danger – something that would have first been triggered by trauma. She told the inquiry the hippocampus and amygdale make up the “smoke detector” of the brain, which ultimately triggers the survival mechanism of our fight or flight response to trauma.
“If the trauma is ongoing… and there’s no expectation that trauma will be over, the brain becomes primed to constantly be in survival mode,” Chambers said. “It’s my job to help the patient and their brain learn to tell the difference between real and perceived danger.”
Cpl. Desmond waited for months without treatment after moving back to Nova Scotia following a discharge from Ste. Anne’s Hospital in Quebec, in August 2016, where he attended an in-patient veteran PTSD program.
Chambers testified she received a call from Cpl. Desmond’s Veterans Affairs case manager in late September – early October 2016. She then left him a voicemail, but didn’t hear back from him for four weeks.
She explained Veterans Affairs didn’t indicate to her there was any urgency in meeting with Cpl. Desmond. In other cases however, caseworkers will ask her to prioritize them when the spouse calls the police about violence.
Although Shanna had called the police numerous times in the past – that didn’t happen.
On the morning of January 3, 2017, Chambers indicated Cpl. Desmond, despite having an appointment with her in two-days, called to inform her he was involved in a car crash, which resulted in a fight with Shanna and her asking for a divorce. He didn’t make his next appointment with Chambers.
Soon after they spoke, he purchased a SKS-762, a military-style carbine, changed into full camouflage fatigue, drove to the Upper Big Tracadie house he’d been sharing with his wife, parked his truck on a remote logging road and slashed Shanna’s tires before entering the back door.
Previous evidence entered by the RCMP indicates Cpl. Desmond didn’t know or expect his daughter Aaliyah and mother Brenda would be present at his wife’s house.
The inquiry learned on January 1, 2017, Cpl. Desmond was held overnight at St. Martha’s Regional Hospital in Antigonish for observation, following a dispute with his wife. Dr. Faisal Rahman, the psychiatrist who assessed him, testified that Cpl. Desmond was “pleasant, forthcoming, and polite,” which resulted in Rahman deeming him a “low” suicide risk.
Cell phone records obtained by the RCMP suggest Cpl. Desmond had already been planning something violent – as he made 90 firearm-related searches in the final 48-hours of his life.
It was then on January 3, 2017 when Cpl. Desmond purchased a military-style carbine, changed into full camouflage fatigue and killed his 31-year-old wife Shanna, his 52-year-old mother Brenda, and his 10-year-old daughter Aaliyah, before turning the gun on himself.
As the health professionals who interacted with Cpl. Desmond are called to testify at the fatality inquiry, Judge Warren Zimmer will be looking at whether they were adequately trained to recognize the symptoms of occupational stress injuries or domestic violence.
The inquiry will also look at whether Desmond family had access to the appropriate mental health and domestic violence intervention services, as well as if Cpl. Desmond should have been able to retain, or obtain a license enabling him to obtain or purchase a firearm.
At the conclusion of the proceedings, Judge Zimmer will file a written report with the Provincial Court containing his findings and recommendations, but his report will not contain any findings of legal responsibility.