A long-awaited fatality inquiry into the death of an Afghanistan war veteran who killed his family and himself in rural Nova Scotia has been adjourned until early 2020.Shanna and Lionel Desmond hold their daughter Aaliyah in an old photo from the Facebook page of Shanna Desmond. (Facebook/The Canadian Press)A long-awaited fatality inquiry into the death of an Afghanistan war veteran who killed his family and himself in rural Nova Scotia has been adjourned on the same day it was set to begin. Lionel Desmond, 33, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after serving two tours in Afghanistan in 2007.On Jan. 3, 2017, he shot his wife Shanna, 31, their 10-year-old daughter Aaliyah and his 52-year-old mother Brenda before turning the gun on himself in the family’s home in Upper Big Tracadie, N.S. Judge Warren Zimmer granted a request for adjournment made by a new lawyer for Shanna Desmond’s family, the Bordens. The inquiry is now scheduled to continue on Jan. 27, 2020. Zimmer said to go ahead “would create an unfairness that I do not believe could be overcome by allowing [the Bordens] to recall witnesses to get caught up.” Tom Macdonald said Monday that he was only retained on Friday after the Bordens parted ways with their previous lawyer. Macdonald said he has yet to receive all 58,000 files, numbering about 120,000 pages, submitted to the inquiry. Macdonald told the inquiry he understands the request “is frustrating, inconvenient and could be seen as last-minute,” but said it’s necessary. “Could there be a worse start if there is a whisper in the air that there was an injustice because someone didn’t have their say?” Macdonald said Monday. The Attorney General of Canada, the Attorney General of Nova Scotia, a lawyer representing two doctors who treated Desmond and counsel for the Nova Scotia Health Authority were not opposed to an adjournment. However, lawyers for the family of Lionel and Brenda Desmond opposed the request for adjournment, “given that we’re now approaching the three-year anniversary of the deaths.” “Would an adjournment be frustrating?” said Zimmer on Monday. “Perhaps, but there are many different parties involved.” The inquiry is expected to probe many aspects of the support systems available to Desmond before his death, including whether he had access to mental health services, whether he should have been able to obtain a firearms licence, and whether health care providers who treated him were trained to recognize occupational stress injuries. Unlike a public inquiry, which traditionally can make findings of legal responsibility, a fatality inquiry ends with recommendations contained in a report. The CBC’s Laura Fraser live blogged from the inquiry today.
Fatality inquiry adjourned in N.S. murder-suicide involving veteran and his family | CBC News
