Emily Sanche tried to seek medical help for boyfriend before he fatally stabbed her, court hears
Catherine Sanche says her cousin and best friend Emily Sanche never feared her boyfriend Thomas Hamp would hurt her in the weeks leading up to her death in February 2022.
Hamp is on trial at Court of King's Bench in Saskatoon for second-degree murder in the death of Sanche on Feb. 20, 2022. Hamp does not deny killing Sanche. His defence lawyer is arguing he is not criminally responsible.
Catherine described her cousin as selfless, passionate and driven. Catherine says the pair lived together for years, were lifelong best friends who would play Dungeons and Dragons with friends and ran a side business together making and selling dice bags for the game.
"I think she knew me better than anyone," Catherine said during her testimony Tuesday at Court of King's Bench in Saskatoon.
During Catherine's testimony Tuesday, she spent much of her time reading excerpts from a 10-page document she compiled for a police interview about Hamp's worsening mental health. The document was made up of text messages exchanged with Sanche over a roughly three-month period with timestamped dates and times from each message.
Hamp had been diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder years earlier and was taking medication. Sanche had a career focus on the disorder after completing her psychology degree and was working towards her master's at the time of her death.
From December 2021 to February 2022, Catherine detailed a variety of concerning incidents, many of which resulted in either a trip to the hospital, a clinic or to the province's crisis health line.
Hamp was telling Sanche about memories or stories that she verified did not happen. These delusions increased over time.
Hamp became suspicious and believed he was being followed. He thought family members were pedophiles and that he had been sexually abused. Eventually, Hamp thought doctors or his medication would castrate him.
One night, Sanche found Hamp sitting in the bathroom in the middle of the night trying to take his phone apart because he believed Tetris was spying on him.
Each medical visit, Sanche was either told Hamp's symptoms were from his OCD, Hamp weening himself off his medication, and that he was not an immediate danger to himself or others.
(Facebook/Thomas Hamp)
Catherine explained to Crown prosecutor Cory Bliss that Hamp effectively convinced doctors he was fine because he believed his delusions, and they had no context or reference of what happened and what wasn't real.
"I'm so mad at these f***ing smug doctors for letting it get this bad. We did everything right," Catherine said, reading Sanche's text message.
As Catherine read each message, she detailed how Sanche's focus was on getting Hamp healthy and treated. She regularly updated his family. Through her education she learned the risks of involving police and how their presence could "escalate" Hamp's condition if he was suffering from psychosis, so she was reluctant to call police.
Catherine received a final message from Sanche on Feb. 19, 2022 – the day before she was fatally stabbed – once again frustrated with Hamp's medical care.
"I just hate that this is how the system works," Catherine said to the court.
"We brought him in months ago. This could have all been avoided."
Two weeks are set aside for the judge-alone trial. The trial resumes Wednesday morning, when the defence is expected to call Hamp to testify.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Federal government to further limit number of international students
The federal government will be further limiting the number of international students permitted to enter Canada next year. It's the government's latest immigration-related measure to address Canadians' ongoing housing and affordability concerns.
Search for suspect in Kentucky highway shooting ends with discovery of body believed to be his
Authorities say they believe the body of a man suspected of shooting and wounding five people on a Kentucky interstate highway has been found.
Here's why you should get all your vaccines as soon as possible
With all these shots, some Canadians may have questions about the benefit of each vaccine, whether they should get every shot and how often to get them, and if it's safe to get them all at once or if they should space them out.
Bloc MPs will vote confidence in Liberal government next week: Blanchet
The Conservatives' first shot at toppling the Liberal government is likely doomed to fail, after Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet told reporters his MPs will vote confidence in the government.
'I'm here for the Porsche': Video shows brazen car theft in Mississauga
Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.
Exploding electronic devices kill 20, wound 450 in second day of explosions in Lebanon
Lebanon's health ministry said Wednesday that at least 20 people were killed and 450 others wounded by exploding electronic devices in multiple regions of the country. The explosions came a day after an apparent Israeli attack targeting pagers used by Hezbollah killed at least 12 and wounded nearly 3,000.
'It starts off innocent': Manitoba man loses $185,000 to crypto-romance scam
A Manitoba man is warning others after he fell victim to an elaborate online scam over the summer.
Teen faces new charge in Sask. high school arson attack
A 14-year-old student who allegedly set her classmate on fire is facing a new charge.
Quebec woman charged with first-degree murder in death of five-year-old boy
A 29-year-old Quebec woman is facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of a five-year-old boy southwest of Montreal.