Lionel Desmond not turned away by hospital, family says after briefing on deaths
ANTIGONISH, N.S. — A former Canadian soldier was not turned away from a Nova Scotia hospital in the days before he killed three members of his family and himself, relatives said Wednesday after meeting with health officials and the province’s medical examiner.
Lionel Desmond, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who suffered from PTSD, had told family members he was turned away from a hospital’s mental health unit before the killings.
But speaking to media after a three-hour meeting with health officials at St. Martha’s Regional Hospital in Antigonish, N.S., on Wednesday, Desmond’s cousin Albert MacLellan said he was not turned away.
“That was misinformation. I don’t know if it was part of his state of mind that made him tell some family members that or not,” said MacLellan, who is also a veteran.