Joan Veitch, the mother of Graham Veitch, says she blames nobody only herself for not recognizing the severity of her son’s mental illness and for not being able to protect both her partner, David Collins, and her son.
Veitch was found not criminally responsible in St. John’s Supreme Court yesterday in connection to the 2016 beating death of Collins at the family home in Logy Bay.
The judge accepted as fact that the delusions that Graham Veitch was experiencing in December 2016 led him to believe David Collins was a threat to him and his mother. He killed Collins after eating supper with him, by repeatedly beating him over the head with a hammer.
Joan Veitch prepared a statement for reporters following the verdict. It was read by her lawyer Lynn Moore. Joan thanked her family and close friends for stepping in to “care for and carry her through.”
She says her siblings stepped in to visit her son twice a week since incarceration, and says she is looking forward to seeing her son for the first time since 2016.
Lawyer Lynn Moore says she was retained by Joan Veitch in an effort to see her son, however the no-contact order remained in place until the end of the court proceedings. Moore describes the entire series of events as devastating for Ms. Veitch, but calls her a strong and remarkable person.
Prosecutor Shawn Patten says all the evidence in this case clearly led down the road to an NCR verdict. He says this has been a difficult case for everyone involved.
Patten says Collins was well respected and loved by his family, and was caught in an unfortunate situation with a young man suffering psychosis and he passed away. He calls it a hard case to deal with.