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A bail hearing did not take place Wednesday as intended in Nicholas Bain’s murder conspiracy case.
Instead, a judge ordered he undergo a third psychiatric evaluation before moving forward.
Bain is accused of conspiring to kill Sylvio Saulnier, the son of a couple found murdered in their Dieppe home in 2019. Bain is one of five people charged with the crime in 2025.
Sylvio Saulnier died by suicide in 2023.
Bain appeared in person in provincial court Wednesday and stood in the prisoner’s box with his hands cuffed in front of him and his eyes closed. Escorted by two sheriffs, he remained silent, with his head down, as Judge Marc Savoie addressed him.
Bain then whispered in French, “I’m ready to interrogate the witnesses against me today,” and went on to repeat the phrase several times.
He did not answer when Savoie asked him if he wished to speak with a legal aid lawyer first.
Bain, who is 30, recently underwent a 30-day psychiatric evaluation at the Restigouche Hospital Centre in Campbellton to determine if he was not criminally responsible for conspiring to kill Saulnier.
Savoie read from a doctor’s report of the evaluation in court and recited the words in French, saying, “Bain does not suffer a mental disorder as to exempt him from criminal responsibility.”
This means that the evaluation found that any potential mental illness did not prohibit Bain from understanding the crimes he is accused of committing while he allegedly committed them.
Earlier, Bain had undergone an evaluation during which he was not co-operative and did not speak to doctors, according to notes referred to in court.
A Crown prosecutor told Savoie that Bain should therefore be sent for a different kind of evaluation — one that aims to determine if he is fit to stand trial.
As he said this, Bain held up his hands and looked at the legal aid lawyer.
After a short break, Bain re-entered and told the judge, “I sincerely do not want to go.” He also said there were no problems with his comprehension.
Savoie told him the court was being placed in a “delicate” situation given that he had not co-operated with an evaluation in the past, and that doctors could not make a clear determination.
“I have no other choice,” Savoie said. “We’ll have a complete report from someone who is qualified.”
Bain shook his head and held his hands up as if in prayer, before being brought out of the room.
An evaluation of this kind is typically done in 30 days, Savoie said.
However, Bain’s assessment is scheduled for two weeks, so he can return in time to appear alongside Janson Bryan Baker, Jesse Todd Logue, Monique Alicia Boyer and Christopher Allen Lennon, the other co-accused in the conspiracy case.
Bain’s next appearance is set for April 13.
