Woman accused in Shoppers fatal stabbing to undergo psychiatric assessment

By News staff

A woman accused of first-degree murder in a fatal stabbing at a Shoppers Drug Mart last December has been ordered to undergo a more “thorough” psychiatric assessment next week.

Rohinie Bisesar, 40, was initially charged with second-degree murder in the death of 28-year-old Rosemarie Junor. The charge was upgraded to first-degree in February.

The stabbing happened in the PATH system at 66 Wellington St. W., just before 3 p.m. on Dec. 11, 2015. Junor died five days later in hospital.

(Click here to watch the video on mobile.)

Bisesar was evaluated by a forensic psychiatrist on Friday but during a court appearance at the Old City Hall courthouse, her defence lawyer, Calvin Barry, asked for another one. She is scheduled to undergo an assessment at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health on April 26.

“You have to be fit in a number of facets to be able to be in court, to take instructions from your counsel […] she obviously has some concerns and she wanted to voice the voices that she’s been hearing,” Barry told reporters after the hearing on Friday.


Related stories:

Woman charged in fatal Shoppers Drug Mart stabbing in hospital

Charges upgraded to first-degree murder in Shoppers Drug Mart stabbing


Bisesar has another court appearance scheduled in early May. At that time, the results of the assessment will be revealed and the court will decide if she is fit to continue the trial process. Since her arrest in December, she hasn’t had a bail hearing.

During a court appearance on Friday, Bisesar yelled continually through the hearing saying that she is “perfectly fine” and there is nothing wrong with her.

She also said they should be checking her body for a foreign object “that can feel what I feel and put words in my mouth,” and not her psychiatric situation.

Bisesar yelled that her lawyer is hiding something and that she wants a new one.

Barry said her court appearance was “quite bizarre” but that her outbursts are “all part of people that have mental issues in the court system.”

And similar to her court appearance last week, which was via a video link, she warned the judge about matter of national security and terrorists. Later that week, Bisesar was also hospitalized but it’s not known why.

With files from Marianne Boucher

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