Vancouver Starbucks murder suspect was still taking schizophrenia meds: prosecutor

VANCOUVER — A prosecutor in the murder trial of a man who stabbed a Vancouver Starbucks patron to death says the evidence doesn’t establish that the suspect had stopped taking his schizophrenia medication months earlier, as he had testified.

Daniel Pruim said Inderdeep Singh Gosal is prepared to lie when it benefits him and “use his mental health to achieve goals.”

Gosal pleaded not guilty in February to second-degree murder, in a killing that was captured on video widely shared on social media.

His lawyer Gloria Ng has said her client should be convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter, because he was unable to understand the consequences of his actions due to his “unmedicated psychotic state” when he stabbed Paul Schmidt to death on the café patio.

But Pruim disagreed in his closing remarks on Wednesday, arguing the evidence showed Gosal was taking his medication as he was filling his prescriptions at appropriate intervals.

He also took issue with Ng’s use of the word “psychosis,” calling it “an intermittent symptom” that both psychiatrists who assessed Gosal agreed he did not have.

CCTV footage played in court in February showed a verbal confrontation on March 26, 2023, that turned physical when Schmidt approached Gosal, who was smoking something near the Starbucks entrance, leaving Schmidt lying in a pool of blood after Gosal stabbed him six times in the chest.

The trial heard that Gosal suffers from schizophrenia and he testified that he felt threatened during the incident but did not intend to kill Schmidt, who was pushing his daughter in a stroller at the time.

Closing arguments from both sides relied heavily on testimony from two forensic psychiatrists, Dr. Johann Brink and Dr. Rakesh Lamba.

The court has heard that the two doctors agreed Gosal suffered from schizophrenia but disagreed about whether it impaired his understanding of the potential consequences of his actions — which is the central issue at trial.

Pruim’s co-counsel, Karin Blok, had told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Kathleen Ker on Tuesday that Gosal was not a reliable witness and the evidence established beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to cause Schmidt bodily harm that was likely to cause death.

Pruim reiterated the assertion on Wednesday, saying Gosal “is and has been prepared to lie when he perceives there is a benefit to him.”

The Crown has cited several instances, including Gosal exaggerating to police how much alcohol he had consumed, changing his story about buying the knife to one of finding it in an alley in a “sign from God,” and presenting psychiatrists with self-serving depictions of his psychological state.

“He lied to his family. He lied to the police. He lied to his doctors and he lied to this court. He’s prepared to use his mental health to achieve goals,” Pruim said.

Ng had told the judge-alone trial during her closing arguments on Tuesday that Gosal’s actions were an “overreaction due to mental illness” rather than a “deliberate intent to kill.”

Pruim, meanwhile, argued Gosal was able to foresee the consequences of his actions and there was no evidence of any impairment of his mental faculties.

“Mr. Gosal’s actions were purposeful and organized,” Pruim said Wednesday. “It was Dr. Lamba’s opinion, supported by evidence before this court, that Mr. Gosal could foresee the consequences of his actions.”

Pruim said that Gosal testified that he did not resort to using the blade until after he had “pushed Mr. Schmidt away multiple times.” But the lawyer said that was “demonstrably false” based on the video evidence, which showed Gosal “stabbed toward” Schmidt just three seconds after the confrontation began.

He noted that Gosal had repeatedly said he was defending himself against Schmidt, but the self-defence claim failed because his actions “were not remotely reasonable in the circumstances.”

“He brought a knife to a fist fight and he used it repeatedly to stab Mr. Schmidt — who was unarmed and never landed a single blow — in the torso, a part of the body Mr. Gosal knew contained vital organs, including the heart and lungs,” Pruim said.

“Stabbing an unarmed man six times in the torso is not a reasonable response to an attempted punch or shove.”

Pruim concluded Schmidt’s death was the “inevitable result” of Gosal’s actions and asserted that the Crown had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Ker is scheduled to deliver her decision on July 23.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2026.

Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press