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A Toronto man on trial for the 2022 murder of his former neighbour has been found not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder.

Superior Court Justice Maureen Forestell delivered her verdict to Devret Clarke in a downtown Toronto courtroom Wednesday. Forestell has been presiding over the judge-alone trial for Clarke, who was charged with the first-degree murder of Gars-Ara Kourjakian on Dec. 30, 2022.

Forestell concluded that Clarke, who was experiencing symptoms of schizophrenia, including paranoid delusions and hallucinations, was actively psychotic at the time he killed Kourjakian. The judge was satisfied on a balance of probabilities that Clarke’s mental disorder rendered him incapable of knowing his act was wrong.

“He viewed his conduct as justified according to his own moral code and according to the norms of society,” Forestell told court.

Clarke’s lawyers argued last month he should be found not criminally responsible and relied on the opinions of two forensic psychiatrists who assessed Clarke. He believed that others were tormenting and attacking him and his family.

That argument upset Kourjakian’s family; his brother told ���Ĵ�ý in February such a finding would be “another failure of the system.” The Crown has contested the defence’s position.

According to an agreed statement of facts, at 5:20 p.m. on Dec. 30, 2022, Clarke, in a vehicle, followed Kourjakian’s car into the underground parkade of a Scarborough apartment building they both lived in.

After parking in his spot, Kourjakian was helping his four-year-old daughter out of the back seat of their car when Clarke pulled up beside them.

Gunshots were fired from inside the car and Kourjakian was struck by a bullet. He was wounded in the right side of his neck and died from his injuries at the scene.

Kourjakian’s daughter retrieved her father’s cellphone immediately after he was shot and called her mother, telling her that her dad was dead. The unharmed child was found in the parking lot by residents of the building with her father’s blood on her hands and clothing. Residents took her to an apartment until police arrived.

2:06 Judge to decide if Ontario man criminally responsible for killing ex-neighour

Clarke testified he had been harassed by Kourjakian and other tenants for three years. Even after he moved out on May 31, 2021, Clarke said he believed he was still being attacked by fellow tenants, fearing for his own safety and the safety of his great-nephew.

Clarke testified he felt their lives were being threatened, and the shooting was a last resort. He explained he self-published more than 30 books before Kourjakian was killed to leave a message of truth and to give clarity to the family for why his actions were justified.

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“It’s somebody trying to take my life. I can’t have kids. I love kids, but before I put anybody else’s life in danger and allow my nieces and nephews to be put in danger, I need to end it, right now, those threats,” Clarke said in a rambling speech on Feb. 12.

“I’m going through the struggle of someone tormenting me 24/7. A lot of people think it’s demons, sorcery. Just because we don’t see it, doesn’t mean these things aren’t happening.”

According to the facts, Clarke made repeated complaints to building management when he lived there, making several allegations including that various neighbours were hitting his walls and floors to disturb him.

Management found no evidence to support Clarke, who would sometimes confront his neighbours. Kourjakian complained to building management about Clarke confronting him and his family about allegations of excessive noise.

He also started making several complaints to police; no one was arrested or charged.

In October 2021, Clarke became a registered firearms owner. He applied and was approved to buy three handguns later that year. He claimed the handguns were purchased for target practice purposes.

When police executed a search warrant at his home following Kourjakian’s killing, officers found a cache of weapons including three handguns, two shotguns and ammunition inside Clarke’s bedroom in a locked gun cabinet. It’s admitted one of the handguns seized was used to shoot Kourjakian.

The forensic psychiatrists who assessed Clarke both agreed that they did not believe Clarke was feigning symptoms of mental illness to avoid criminal prosecution. They both testified Clarke was suffering from untreated schizophrenia at the time of the killing.

Forestell found that Clarke was motivated by several things: a belief he and his family were in danger from a number of people including the victim, Mr. Kourjakian; an inability to cope with the ongoing physical and psychological torment of the hallucinations that he believed were real and controlled the victim; and, anger at the torment he suffered and the threat to his family.

“I find that he did not believe that there was an imminent threat to his life and safety or that of his family at the moment that he killed Mr. Kourjakian, but he believed that killing Mr. Kourjakian was the only way to relieve the torment and to preserve his own safety and that of his family,” Forestell said.

Forestell also accepted that Clarke believed at the time of the murder, the victim and others were able to change his heart rate and breathing and the heart rate and breathing of his nephew. It’s something he didn’t report to psychiatrists in the assessments but the judge accepted that was because Clarke was not admitting the killing at the time.

Just two days before the murder, Clarke wrote that “they” had changed the heart rate and breathing of his nephew.

“Mr. Clarke’s documentation of his belief, close in time to the murder, is strong evidence that he held that belief at the time and that it motivated his actions,” the judge said.

Crown prosecutors indicated after Forestell delivered her judgment that they would be pursuing a high-risk offender designation for Clarke. Forestell ordered a disposition assessment, which she described as a test of his “threat to society.”

The Crown said it was assessing whether or not they proceed with a high-risk offender designation once the disposition is done.