MONTREAL - A five-member administrative panel will hear the case of a man who admits he stabbed his children to death, and will have to decide whether he should walk free.
Guy Turcotte, whose case shocked and angered Quebecers, will appear today before a mental health review board at the Montreal hospital where he is detained.
The ex-cardiologist admitted to causing the deaths of his two children, who were stabbed multiple times in their beds in 2009.
But at his murder trial Turcotte testified that he was distraught over the breakup of his marriage, had only remembered flashes of that fateful evening, and said he did not intend to hurt them.
A jury found him not criminally responsible for the deaths, in a controversial decision last month.
There are now three possible outcomes at the review board: the panel will decide whether Turcotte should obtain his conditional release, receive an unconditional release, or remain detained in a psychiatric institution.
The board will begin hearing Turcotte's case today but it's not clear how long it will sit for, said Jean-Claude Hebert, a lawyer who is acting as spokesman for the administrative tribunal.
"The mission of the board examining Dr. Turcotte is not the same as the courts," Hebert said.
"They will have to scrutinize all the information of the case related to Mr. Turcotte."
They will go over evidence and documents produced during his trial and, at the very least, will hear from the psychiatrist who treats Turcotte at the Pinel Institute.
Turcotte can choose to call other witnesses and testify himself.
While the mother of the children -- Turcotte's ex-wife -- could choose to make a victim-impact statement, she doesn't have any official status before the board.
Turcotte would be eligible to return before the board in one year.
The commission findings will not have any bearing on the verdict rendered in July.
Turcotte stabbed his son, Olivier, and daughter, Anne-Sophie, a total of 46 times in their beds.
The Crown had charged him with two counts of first-degree murder.
A former cardiologist, Turcotte gave up his right to be a doctor in 2009, according to the Quebec College of Physicians.
The Crown has said it's appealing the verdict because it believes the judge erred in his instructions to the jury. The Quebec Court of Appeal has yet to rule on whether or not it will hear the case.
