SASKATOON -- Blake Schreiner testified on Wednesday that he heard voices in his head leading up to Tammy Brown’s death and was paranoid he was going to be killed.

On Schreiner’s 39th birthday, he took the stand in his own murder trial.

Schreiner is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Brown.

Brown was found dead in the couple’s River Heights home on Jan. 29, 2019.

She had about 80 stab wounds all around her body and died from excessive blood loss.

“For two or three days I thought (Brown) was trying to kill me,” Schreiner testified, as the defence’s first witness.

Schreiner told court he had visions of Brown shovelling dirt on his grave. He said he thought Brown was designing his coffin during the renovation of their closet.

The accused told court his history with anxiety and panic attacks began when he was a child.

He said he started to experience paranoia in adulthood and recalled times at his job at Cameco he thought his coworkers were against him.

Schreiner testified he first started hearing voices ”whispering” in his head about 10 years ago.

He said the voices in his head became more frequent after taking mushrooms.

Even after his mushroom-induced hallucinations were over, the voices would continue.

Schreiner said he believed the Illuminati was speaking to him, tracking his every move and were “pissed off” at him.

Schreiner’s journals were entered as evidence in the case. In the journals, he wrote about his mushroom hallucinations — which involved travelling to the underworld.

Crown Prosecutor Melodi Kujawa said the nub of the case is whether Schreiner was mentally aware or responsible for the stabbing.

“What was going on in his head on the night in question? Was he capable of appreciating the nature and the quality of his act? Of course that will be up to the judge to decide. It will always be the Crown’s case that yes he did,” Kujawa told reporters outside court.

Schreiner is expected to finish his testimony on Thursday. The trial is scheduled to continue at Saskatoon’s Court of Queen’s Bench all week.