Howard Richmond posted online about 'voices' in head on night he killed wife
Canadian soldier Howard Richmond posted about "voices" in his head on Facebook the night he killed his wife Melissa, a police officer testified at his first-degree murder trial on Tuesday.
"Three of the four voices in my head are telling me to sleep," a screengrab of his Facebook page from 2:19 a.m. on July 25, 2013 read, Ontario Provincial Police Const. Michael Redmond testified.
He also told the court that Richmond posted a photo of an open barbecue that appeared to be cooking lamb chop, and an "odd" note that read, "I'm wondering if penguins have knees."
Howard Richmond, 52, admitted at the outset of his first-degree murder trial last week that he stabbed his wife to death with a screwdriver and knife but he pleaded not guilty.
He believes he is not criminally responsible because he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after six tours of duty at the time of the killing.
Melissa Richmond, 28, was found dead in a deep ditch near South Keys Shopping Centre on July 28, 2013. Her husband told police she went on a late-night drive on July 24 and never came home.
Weapons found hidden in Richmonds' home
Retired Ottawa police detective Gerry Kinnear testified he found a bundle of clothes wedged between the ceiling rafters and the furnace duct in the basement of the Richmonds' home while executing a search warrant five days after Melissa's body was found.
He said he found a folding knife with a red handle and a screwdriver with the tip broken off wrapped in the black-coloured clothes that appeared to be covered in blood.
Kinnear also testified that two axes and a sword were mounted on the basement wall. The Richmonds were part of a medieval role-playing group.
Court previously heard that Melissa had been having an affair with a married man who was also a member of the medieval role-playing group.
The Crown has argued that the couple's marriage had been deteriorating for several months before the killing and that Melissa was considering leaving her husband.
