A Surrey man accused of killing and dismembering his roommate – and then freezing certain body parts – was found guilty by a B.C. Supreme Court judge Monday morning.
Ernest Allan Hosack, 40, was charged with second-degree murder in the July 2008 death of Richard Falardeau.
During Hosack's lengthy trial last year, the court heard that he and Falardeau, 54, had met in a coffee shop in June 2008 and became roommates, sharing an attic apartment in a house near 143 Street and 88 Avenue.
After Falardeau's brother reported him missing in mid-August of that year, police went to the pair's apartment, where they were greeted by an overwhelming stench and clouds of flies.
They discovered a suitcase in a closet which contained a dismembered body – later identified as Falardeau's – with the head missing. Plastic bags in the freezer contained Falardeau's thumbs, testes and anus.
Three months later, Falardeau's skull was found in a grassy area near 92 Avenue and King George Boulevard.
Hosack, who was already in jail on unrelated charges, was charged with Falardeau's murder in May 2009.
The court heard that he initially behaved normally during his interview with police, but quickly became delusional. He spoke of nuclear cutting wire and nuclear-free controlled warfare and claimed to have worked with NASA and General Electric. He said his binder full of "valuable" and "potentially dangerous" designs went missing after he had a falling out with Falardeau, who had dumped his belongings outside their house. He denied killing Falardeau, but said he'd cleaned up after "spirits" took his roommate.
Hosack then began speaking in a low, guttural tone, saying he was his grandfather, the Entity. He said he'd "disposed of" Fallardeau and ordered him dismembered. His parts, he said, were "sent to different places in hell to be torn apart."
Hosack, speaking as his grandfather, said Fallardeau had died "faster than he ever felt possible," and he told police details about the body parts in the freezer that had never been released publicly. He referred to Fallardeau using his grandson's head for "ill purposes," saying "nobody meddles with our business."
In delivering his guilty verdict Monday morning in New Westminster Supreme Court, Justice Terence Schultes said Hosack was clearly in the grips of some kind of mental illness.
During the trial, the defence had suggested Fallardeau, who was a heavy drinker and suffered from an array of health problems, may have died naturally or accidentally prior to his body being tampered with.
However, Schultes said the evidence indicated there was an "intentional killing" prior to the dismemberment.
"Even in the delusional universe described by Mr. Hosack," said Schultes, "the savage and bizarre indignities inflicted on the body reflect a degree of hostility that I find is unlikely to have been generated solely by coming upon Mr. Fallardeau after he had died of natural causes or an unrelated accident."
Rather, he said, the injuries point to an "irrational and homicidal" state of mind.
A pathologist identified Falardeau's cause of death as "homicidal violence," but noted the hyoid bone in the neck was fractured, consistent with strangulation. The sternum and several ribs were also fractured. He determined the dismemberment occurred after his death.
Schultes said Hosack spoke truthfully about Fallardeau's death in his talk with police, but that the actions he attributed to the Entity were, in fact, his own actions.
Though Schultes found Hosack guilty, he didn't formally file the conviction, instead offering the defence an opportunity to argue Hosack was not criminally responsible for the death due to a mental disorder.
The next court date is May 9.