The stabbing victim wants a no-contact order against the alleged attacker lifted

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A Calgary-area man accused of trying to kill his wife wants to see her, a court has been told.

A lawyer for a woman suffering from severe dementia said Wednesday she will seek an evaluation of her client to determine if she is not criminally responsible (NCR) due to mental disorder.

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Defense attorney Adriano Iovinelli told Judge Indra Maharaj that his client's husband, Dwight Campbell, wanted the court-ordered contact clause against his elderly wife to be lifted.

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Rhonda Campbell, 73, is charged with attempted murder in connection with the Jan. 31 incident at her Rocky View County home.

“There is a non-contact agreement,” Iovinelli told a Calgary court judge.

“The complainant (husband) wants to communicate and he is very loud to me,” the lawyer said.

Iovinelli said Crown prosecutor Vince Pingitor said he would meet with her husband to discuss the restriction and determine if the condition could be lifted.

He also testified that psychiatrist Dr. David Tano had certified his wife under the Mental Health Act and agreed with him and Pingitore that an NCR evaluation was warranted.

At a previous hearing, Iovinelli said an evaluation by doctors at the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatric Center found his client unfit to stand trial.

“It doesn't get any better because of the unique circumstances,” he said in court last month.

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Under the Penal Code, a person found unfit can be detained until they become fit, but because of his client's mental health, Iovinelli said nothing like medication or treatment would change that.

The NCR's finding allows Campbell to be sent to an Alberta Review Board hearing to determine where he can be placed in the future.

In contrast to a lack of compliance, the NCR's ruling indicates that the person's mental state at the time of the alleged offense rendered them incapable of assessing the nature and consequences of their conduct, or that it was not reasonable.

Iovinelli asked that his client's case be brought back to court next week so he can appear in person and conduct an additional criminal liability evaluation for his client while the no-contact order is being considered.

The accused, who did not appear in court on Wednesday, is currently in a forensic psychiatric center.

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