A woman facing a first-degree murder charge for allegedly stabbing a stranger to death in the underground PATH system in downtown Toronto has fired her second lawyer, eleven months before her trial is set to begin.
Rohinie Bisesar, 41, is accused of randomly attacking Rosemarie Junor, 28, on the afternoon of Dec. 11, 2015 in a Shoppers Drug Mart beneath the Toronto-Dominion Centre, a short distance from where Junor worked as a medical technician.
At a court appearance Wednesday morning, Bisesar informed Justice John McMahon she wanted to fire her lawyer David Connally.
She made the request through a letter directly to the judge, which McMahon told her not to do in the future.
McMahon urged Bisesar to hire another lawyer as soon as possible, and that if she did not, he would appoint a lawyer to act as a “friend of the court” to ensure her rights are being safeguarded.
In a long speech that swung between calm statements, shaking sobs and urgent pleas, Bisesar reiterated her belief, previously shared with the court, that there is something nefarious inside her, controlling her body, and that she needs to have her body scanned.
“I’m not responsible for this. I’m a good person. But there is something interacting with me,” she told the court, adding that she is also a victim.
At one point, she expressed doubt that Junor was actually dead.
McMahon flatly assured her it was it was an indisputable fact.
Crown prosecutor Beverley Richards told the court she will be bringing an application for Bisesar to undergo a psychiatric assessment focused on criminal responsibility at the next court appearance on Monday.
Bisesar said she would oppose such an assessment and repeatedly denied having a mental illness.
She was found fit to stand trial last May, shortly after she fired her first lawyer Calvin Barry.
She also asked McMahon to move her from the Milton jail where she is being held.
McMahon said she would need to make a formal application to the court, but ordered the jail to look into her claims that 300 pages of her notes were stolen and that she is being denied appropriate clothing, water, food and basic hygiene.
He also ordered that she be permitted to use the phone to contact potential lawyers.
Outside the courthouse Junor’s older brother Richard told reporters that he is happy a trial date has been set and the case is moving forward.
“It’s been a trying time for all of us,” he said. “It’s just devastating to know she’s gone . . . but she’s looking down on us.”
Bisesar’s trial is scheduled for Jan 8, 2018.