VANCOUVER — A jury has found a Vancouver man guilty of murdering two of his friends in a West End apartment two years ago, but the accused’s lawyer is arguing his client is not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder.
Wednesday’s verdict by the B.C. Supreme Court jury in the case of Leonard Landrick, 75, came after two days of deliberations. On Tuesday, the jury had told Justice Ronald Skolrood that they were deadlocked and unable to reach a unanimous verdict. The judge exhorted them to continue.
After the jury found Landrick guilty of two counts of second-degree murder in the July 2017 deaths of Sandra McInnes, 57, and Neil Croker, 51, Landrick’s lawyer, John Stowe, stood up in court and addressed the judge.
In an unusual move, Stowe asked the judge not to enter the guilty verdict and said he was interested in pursuing a hearing to determine whether Landrick was not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder. He asked that an assessment of his client be conducted.
Crown counsel Brian MacFarlane objected, telling the judge that there was no foundation to have such a hearing.
The judge indicated that he needed to hear more on the issue.
The two victims were found stabbed to death in their apartments at the Ocean Towers highrise on Morton Avenue. The Crown’s theory was that Landrick’s motive to kill them involved a belief that they had rendered him unconscious using a date rape drug and that Croker had then raped him.
