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Woman accused of killing 3 people fit to stand trial, court rules

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A Toronto woman accused of killing three people in three Ontario cities over three days last year is fit to stand trial, a court ruled Wednesday.

Sabrina Kauldhar faces one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder. The charges relate to three deaths police have said took place over three consecutive days in Toronto, Niagara Falls and Hamilton in early October.

In March, a judge ruled that Kauldhar was unfit to stand trial at that time, after the prosecution requested a psychological assessment.

Defence lawyers had initially asked for the assessment, but withdrew their application saying Kauldhar had instructed them to oppose it.

After being found unfit, she was ordered into a 60-day psychiatric treatment.

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Kauldhar’s lawyers argued following Kauldhar’s reassessment that the Crown has not met its burden to prove it is more likely than not that the accused has the “psychological wherewithal to meet the test for fitness,” a judge for the Ontario Court of Justice said Wednesday.

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But Justice Russell Silverstein said he took into consideration the opinions of medical experts from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health who observed Kauldhar before making his decision.

“It stands to reason that if most of the symptoms of the defendant’s mental illness have resolved through treatment, it is also likely that her unfitness to stand trial, another earlier symptom of her illness, has also resolved,” he said in a Toronto courtroom Wednesday.

He ultimately ruled that Kauldhar would be fit to stand trial.


Kauldhar was arrested and charged in the three killings in early October.

Toronto police found a woman dead in the city’s west end on Oct. 1. Investigators identified the victim as 66-year-old Trinh Thi Vu, and have said she and Kauldhar knew each other but did not provide details on their relationship.

The following day, emergency officials responded to a park in Niagara Falls for a reported disturbance and found 47-year-old Lance Cunningham critically injured. He later died at the scene, police said.

On Oct. 3, Hamilton police said they found an unresponsive, injured man in a parking lot who later died in hospital. They identified him as 77-year-old Mario Bilich, and said he was found with stab wounds.

Police said Kauldhar was arrested in Burlington later that day.

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Investigators have said they believe Cunningham and Bilich were randomly attacked.

Kauldhar is scheduled to appear in court again next month.

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Boy’s prosthetic eye shows love for Jays

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TORONTO – Eight-year-old Logan Dorna is cheering on the Blue Jays in their playoff run while sporting their logo on his prosthetic eye.

Logan’s left eye was removed at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto after he was diagnosed with retinoblastoma — an eye cancer — when he was six months old.

Matthew Milne, an ocularist who works with the hospital’s eye cancer team, made Logan’s first artificial eye as a baby and replaces it with a new one about every two years as he grows up.

When Logan came to see Milne a couple of weeks ago for his next prosthetic eye, he had something specific in mind.

“I wanted to get the special eye because I like playing baseball and I like watching it too,” he said in a video interview with his parents from their home in Richmond Hill, Ont., on Friday.

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Milne, who hand-paints the artificial eyes, made Logan one with a gold iris and baseball seams.

He painted the Blue Jays logo on top of the eye. Unlike the gold and the seams, it’s not possible to make the logo visible to others because the top is tucked back into the eye socket.

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But Logan knows it’s there and can show others when he swaps that eye out for a second “everyday” prosthetic eye. That one has a brown iris to match his seeing eye.

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It also has a special painting on the top that reflects his interests: a character from the “Zelda” video game series.

Milne encourages his young patients to pick fun images for the tops of their prosthetic eyes.

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“When you’re dealing with a very kind of adult issue like retinoblastoma, I want to always give kids the opportunity to kind of customize something for themselves, make it fun for them,” he said.

Logan’s mom, Taline Dorna, said her son has been wearing his Blue Jays eye “every time the Jays have been playing because he believes in his soul that it’s giving them a little bit of extra luck.”

The sports theme is also a celebration of how much Logan overcame in the summer when he started playing baseball for the very first time, she said.


“Having just monocular vision, depth perception is really off. So whenever he hit that ball … (it) really gave him that boost of confidence.”

When he’s not batting — Logan’s favourite part of the game — he’s “usually right field but sometimes middle and left,” he said.

Dorna and Logan’s father, Serge, hope that their son’s embracing of his artificial eye inspires other children with differences to feel proud and be welcomed.

“That’s what we’ve always wanted for him … no social stigma attached to having a prosthetic eye because it is such a visible difference,” Dorna said.

“We want him to always feel confident and not ashamed of who he is because it’s part of his identity.”

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Logan’s prosthetic eye is connected to ocular muscles so it can move in sync with his seeing eye when he’s looking around, even though there’s no vision there, Milne said.

Retinoblastoma is rare — there were 15 cases in children 14 years and under in 2019 — but it’s the most common type of eye cancer in children and often found under the age of two, according to the Canadian Cancer Society’s website.

Removing the cancerous eye helps prevent the tumour from spreading elsewhere. After Logan’s eye was taken out, he didn’t need any further treatment such as chemotherapy or radiation, his mother said.

He now goes for checkups at SickKids’ eye clinic once a year and sees Milne every few months to maintain his prosthetic eye.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2025.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

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New clinical trial in Ontario uses magic mushrooms to treat anxiety

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A new clinical trial at Kingston Health Sciences Centre could mark a turning point in how anxiety is treated in Canada.

For the first time in Canada, researchers are studying the effects of micro-dose psilocybin, the active ingredient found in magic mushrooms, on people living with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

“There are significant unmet needs among people living with generalized anxiety disorder, and they are seeking effective, well-tolerated treatments,” said Dr. Claudio Soares, principal investigator and attending physician in KHSC’s Mental Health and Addiction program.

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Psilocybin is being tested for its potential to reduce anxiety without causing hallucinations.

“Not everybody has access to treatment, but also not everybody can tolerate medications for anxiety,” said Soares.

“They might have sexual dysfunction or weight gain. So we’re always looking for novel alternatives, novel treatments, and psilocybin has emerged as one of the options to treat anxiety disorder.”

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The study will run over eight weeks and involve up to 60 participants taking either psilocybin or a placebo daily at home.

Researchers say the initial results are encouraging, with some participants noticing reduced anxiety within the first week.

“This study represents a major shift, a new way of targeting anxiety by engaging the brain in novel ways, but without the sedation or emotional numbing caused by many of the current medications used to treat anxiety,” said Soares.

With more than 1.6 million Canadians affected by GAD, researchers are hopeful the trial will offer a safer and more accessible treatment alternative.

If successful, larger-scale studies could follow, bringing new hope to those living with anxiety.


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Springer leaves Game 5 after being hit by pitch

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SEATTLE – Blue Jays designated hitter George Springer left Game 5 of the American League Championship Series due to a right knee injury.

Springer was hit by a 95-m.p.h. pitch thrown by reliever Bryan Woo in the seventh inning of Friday’s game at T-Mobile Park. Toronto led 2-1 at the time.

Springer was replaced in the lineup by Joey Loperfido, who was added to the 26-man roster on Thursday after outfielder Anthony Santander was ruled out with a back injury.

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Springer was hit in the side of the knee and immediately crumpled to the ground in the batter’s box. A team trainer, joined by manager John Schneider, came out of the dugout for assistance.

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The 36-year-old Springer got to his feet and tested the leg by slowly walking to first base before deciding to leave the game.

Springer, who drove in Toronto’s first run of the game in the fifth inning, is hitting .256 in the post-season with three homers and six RBIs. He hit .309 in the regular season with 32 homers and 84 RBIs.

Following the game Jays manager John Schneider said X-rays were negative on Springer’s knee.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2025.


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