A forensic psychiatrist is shedding new light on how well Inderdeep Singh Gosal understood the consequences of his actions.

Gosal is on trial for second-degree murder in the 2023 killing of Paul Schmidt in front of a Starbucks in Vancouver. His defence argues that while Gosal intended to cause harm, he did not have the mental capacity to understand that his actions could cause death and should therefore be found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

But now, Dr. Johann Brink has testified that Gosal’s mental state showed psychotic features, moderate in intensity, but “certainly not severe.”

He told the court, “If I had believed that all this was the result purely of psychosis, then I would have recommended to counsel that a defence of not criminally responsible should be considered.”

During cross-examination, Dr. Brink acknowledged several contradictions in Gosal’s account that concerned him.

These included how much alcohol Gosal had consumed. And Gosal told Dr. Brink he had never been in a fight or owned a knife, which we now know is not true.

Dr. Brink testified that if Gosal were someone who carried a knife, that would change the scenario. Someone who goes around with a weapon, he said, may anticipate the need to use it.

There is also uncertainty about whether Gosal had a coffee prior to the stabbing and what substances he may have been smoking.

Gosal told Dr. Brink that he only “came to” when he saw Schmidt on the ground surrounded by blood, realizing what he had done, but an agreed statement of facts says that after the stabbing, Gosal went into the Starbucks, returned outside, looked at Schmidt’s body, and called him a “bastard.”

Cross-examination of Dr. Brink is set to continue Friday.