Rohinie Bisesar, accused in Shoppers Drug Mart stabbing, sent for mental health assessment

Rohinie Bisesar, the accused in the fatal Shoppers Drug Mart stabbing in Toronto last December, is being sent for a psychiatric evaluation after a court appearance on Friday in which she claimed to hear voices and to have had a microchip implanted inside her.

Bisesar will remain in custody at the Vanier Centre for Women in Milton, and on Tuesday will see a psychiatrist for an evaluation at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

The psychiatrist will issue a report ahead of her next court appearance, scheduled for May 4.

Bisesar's lawyer Calvin Barry told reporters outside court that the psychiatric assessment will help determine whether his client is fit to stand trial.

"A psychiatrist is lined up to see her and then we'll take the next step, because obviously you have to be fit in a number of aspects to be able to be in court, to take instructions from your counsel and to be able to know the rules of the prosecutor and the judge and the defence," Barry said.

"And we question that obviously because of what she was saying today and what she had said last week."

Bisesar, 40, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 28-year-old Rosemarie Junor.

Junor died days after she was stabbed in a Shoppers Drug Mart in the underground PATH system in the city's financial district on Dec. 11.

Bisesar was first charged with attempted murder, before the charge was upgraded to second-degree murder and then, in February, to first-degree murder.

She missed a court appearance on April 13, when court heard she had been hospitalized, which came as a surprise to both the prosecution and defence.

At the time, though, defence lawyer David Burke said Bisesar's mental health is "something that's been in question."

'I hear voices'

During her court appearance on Friday, Bisesar said she was going to fire her lawyer, prompting the judge to stop the proceedings and let her continue speaking.

She went on to say that someone had implanted a microchip in her body, and said she needed a physical exam, not a psychiatric assessment.

Bisesar went on to say that she didn't know who put the chip inside her, but that she is the subject of a scientific experiment by world leaders.

She said background checks were needed for the prime minister, the United States president and the current presidential candidates.

"I hear voices," she said before accusing her lawyer of working against her. That's when the judge said he had heard enough. When the Crown said Bisesar clearly wasn't feeling well, she shouted: "I am not sick."

She listed her educational and professional accomplishments before being led out of court by a guard. As she walked out she accused her lawyer of lying to her and bringing her to court under false pretenses.

Barry was not asked about his client's allegations outside court. But he said that he, the Crown and the judge "just want the best for the end result here.

"Again, it's a very tragic situation with the deceased and the family, and it's very difficult as a defence counsel to be able to basically manoeuvre or orient yourself through this when you have somebody that is exhibiting the behaviour that we have today. But everybody needs a defence and everybody is presumed innocent in their allocations."