Hamilton man in hospital for psychiatric assessment will stand trial for alleged murder of stepfather

Timothy Brown, who is accused of killing his stepfather, George Howson, appeared in court via Zoom Thursday from St. Joseph's Hospital, where court heard he has been undergoing psychiatric assessment over the past two months.

Howson, 73, was discovered seriously injured by police officers after they responded to a 911 call on March 14 just before 4 p.m. at a Main Street West apartment building. Howson died from his injuries later in hospital.

On Thursday, the Crown and defence told the court that Brown, 54, will stand trial for second-degree murder, with his next court date Aug. 20 in Superior Court.

Brown, who is balding and has a thick dark moustache and grey goatee, appeared on screen during the hearing. His lawyer, Dean Paquette, told court that a psychiatric assessment report from St. Joe's released Tuesday night offered the opinion that Brown was not responsible for his actions at the time of the homicide.

Paquette added that the Crown may decide to have a second psychiatric assessment performed.

In a trial, a court, after hearing all of the evidence including medical reports, may find an accused is not criminally responsible (NCR)" for their actions, due to their mental health at the time of a homicide.

Paquette told court that Brown will remain in St. Joe's for an additional three weeks, while the Crown considers its next move.

According to a report from Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Brown repeatedly resisted arrest by Hamilton police officers on March 14. Brown was punched in the head and tasered several times, but still continued to resist, said the report.

It added that two of Brown's ribs were fractured during the arrest process, but Hamilton police officers were cleared of wrongdoing by the SIU because their actions were ruled commensurate with the situation at hand."

The report quoted from the 911 call reporting the assault on Howson, in which Brown was allegedly heard on the line saying: There's a f----ing Nazi here. I killed him. He did not deserve to be here," and that he should receive a pat on the back, $10,000 and a firearm to shoot [his stepfather]."

Jon Wells is a Hamilton-based reporter and feature writer for The Spectator. Reach him via email: jwells@thespec.com