KENTVILLE, N.S. — A Kings County man facing charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault following an incident in New Minas has been sent for a psychological fitness assessment.
Timothy Butler, 50, of Avonport, is charged with attempting to murder an individual by trying to slice open his neck with a knife. He’s also charged with aggravated assault and with possessing a weapon, a knife, for a purpose dangerous to the public peace.
Butler was present in Kentville provincial court in custody on July 29. Defence lawyer Brian Vardigans requested that his client be sent for a 30-day psychological fitness assessment, which Judge Ronda Van Der Hoek granted.
Butler will be remanded to the East Coast Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Dartmouth to have his mental condition assessed. His matters have been adjourned to Aug. 22 for a fitness hearing.
The assessment will determine if Butler is unfit to stand trial and whether the accused suffered from a mental disorder that would exempt him from criminal responsibility by virtue of the Criminal Code at the time of the incident for which he has been charged.
It’s alleged that Butler committed the offences in New Minas during the morning of July 28. The charges have not been proven in court.
According to a news release issued by the RCMP, the Kings District RCMP responded to a 911 call about someone who was being stabbed shortly before 7 a.m. The caller could hear someone yelling for help and when police arrived in the area, they located and arrested the suspect, who was on foot near the scene.
Police located the victim, who was injured, and determined that the victim woke up to find the suspect on top of him, punching him in the head and attempting to cut him with a knife.
The victim was taken to hospital for treatment of his injuries and was later released. The suspect and victim are known to one another and this is not considered a random act.
