Accused killer at Ajax triple murder trial argues he 'had no brain' during slayings

Accused killer Cory Fenn, who is standing trial for the deaths of a woman and her two children in Ajax, says he "didn't have a brain" at the time of the slayings.

Court heard Fenn's submissions for the first time Monday. He argued he has become a new man since his incarceration. 

Fenn argued he could not be guilty of murder as he was not mentally present at the time of the killings in 2018.

"I'm innocent, a free man. I had no brain," he said.

"It was like the Wizard of Oz when they're going down the golden path. If I only had a brain — I didn't have one."

Fenn, 33, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of second-degree murder for the deaths of Krassimira Pejcinovski, 39, her 13-year-old daughter, Venellia, and her 15-year-old son, Roy. He is acting as his own defence, and declined to testify in court previously when given the opportunity.

The mother and daughter were found stabbed to death while the son died as a result of strangulation at their Ajax, Ont., home on March 14, 2018.

Fenn has not called any witnesses or cross-examined anyone who testified in court. He has repeatedly requested a name change in court, emphasizing that he is a new person.

"That's why I articulated to you of my name change ... I'm a king now, I'm a sovereign, I bleed blue now, I'm royal blood," he said.

Fenn's former lawyer, Mary Cremer, also gave her closing statements at the judge-alone trial in Superior Court Monday. Fenn fired her in September, but she has remained on the trial to assist him at the behest of the judge.

She said Fenn had killed the three family members, but argued he was not in stable state of mind to intentionally commit murder.

Cremer said substance abuse was a "major driving force" in the killings but said there was a lack of evidence to prove Fenn's motive to kill — arguing the charges should be downgraded to manslaughter.

She asked Justice Howard Leibovich to consider how intoxicated Fenn was at the time of the killings. Fenn told police he was in a state of "cocaine psychosis" and could only recall "bits and pieces" of what had happened, however no evidence presented before court has supported that.

"The sole issue before this court really is did Mr. Fenn have the requisite intent, the requisite state of mind for murder," Cremer said, arguing the case presented by the Crown fails to prove intent to kill.