Jury rejects not criminally responsible defence, finds Calgary man guilty of murder

Michael Adenyi of Calgary was convicted in the 2022 murder of Vanessa Ladouceur Saturday. (Jared Bautista)

A jury has found a Calgary man guilty of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of a woman on a downtown street three years ago.

Michael Adenyi, who is 29, is charged with first-degree murder in the 2022 death of fitness instructor Vanessa Ladouceur on a downtown street.

Adenyi has said he was hallucinating and believed he was attacking a creature when he attacked the woman and his lawyers argued he was not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder.

Adenyi testified that he would take hour-long showers to drown out the voices in his head.

He said the creatures looked like lions, tigers and bears with mangled faces and that he had to attack or risk being killed. He also would speak to his shoelaces and wear his clothing backwards.

The defence said Adenyi was diagnosed with schizophrenia and prescribed antipsychotic drugs.

They said their client had no memories of what happened.

The prosecutor warned the jury not to believe Adenyi’s claims that he was not criminally responsible, had lied to police and mental health professionals to avoid his crime.

His lawyer said there was no doubt his client was responsible for Ladouceur’s death.

Court heard that he followed Ladouceur for nearly two blocks before body checking her into an alcove and stabbing her several times, including six wounds to the face. She died from a loss of blood.

After 12 hours of deliberations the jury rejected the not criminally responsible plea Saturday evening and convicted him of first-degree murder.

There was silence in the courtroom when the verdict was read. The victim’s mother was crying softly afterward.

A sentencing date will be set on May 9. A first-degree murder conviction has an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Court of Kings Bench Justice Jane Sidnell had instructed the jury it had to consider the NCR defence first before looking at manslaughter, second-degree murder and first-degree murder.

--Bill Graveland

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2025.