Accused in 1975 murder may not be fit for trial, lawyer says
Rodney Nichols's lawyer wants experts to check if the 81-year-old man facing a murder charge over the 1975 death and disappearance of Jewell Parchman Langford is fit to stand trial.
During extradition proceedings this summer, Nichols's American lawyers said he had "full onset dementia."
Speaking in front of the Ontario Court of Justice on Thursday, Toronto-based defence lawyer Laura Metcalfe said a nurse at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre (OCDC) also recently raised questions about her client's mental capabilities.
Metcalfe said she shares "those same concerns" and is seeking a five-day assessment of Nichols's fitness to stand trial.
The request could be authorized by the court as early as Friday. The assessment would take place at OCDC, where Nichols is currently held.
'Serious questions' about understanding, lawyers say
This summer, Nichols's lawyer said they were uncertain their client understood the extradition proceedings against him. At the time, Nichols was living in Florida and Canadian authorities had initiated procedures to bring him back to Canada to stand trial for murder.
"There are serious questions as to whether he has any real idea of what is transpiring from day to day," his lawyers said in documents filed in court in Florida.
Despite these concerns, the extradition request was approved and Nichols returned to Canada earlier this month.
Montreal-based defence lawyer Andrew Barbicki, who is not involved in the case, said the issues that would be determined in an assessment include the accused's ability to understand and participate in the legal proceedings and to give instructions to his lawyer.
If Nichols is found unfit to stand trial, it will be up to the Ontario Review Board to determine whether he should be released or kept in custody to undergo treatment.
It is too early to know if he could return to Florida
"This is a unique case ... As to how the court will decide, it is difficult to predict," said Barbicki.
A cold case for decades
Nichols was a star player for the Westmount rugby club back in 1975.
He had just moved into a house in Montreal with Langford, a woman from Tennessee he had met in Florida.
A few days later, the 48-year-old woman stopped communicating with her family in the United States.
Her body was later found in the Nation River along Highway 417, between Montreal and Ottawa.
Nichols is accused of murdering Langford, a woman from Tennessee who disappeared in Montreal in 1975. The two had moved in together in April and Langford's body was found in May. (Denis Babin/Radio-Canada)
For decades, she was known only by the moniker "Nation River Lady" as authorities struggled to identify her.
Langford was only recently identified with the help of forensic genealogy.
