The author of the Laval drama will undergo further psychiatric evaluations

The perpetrator of the Laval daycare drama will be detained in a psychiatric institute for another month. The court accepted this request from the Philippe-Pinel Institute on Tuesday.

The accused presents a complex clinical picture which requires additional tests, justifies the Institute. A clinical picture is a set of symptoms, characteristics and signs of pathological states that suggest an observable psychological diagnosis.

Pierre Ny St-Amand will remain detained until April 26, the deadline scheduled for his next appearance at the Laval courthouse. It will be determined at that time whether or not he is criminally responsible for the murder of two children and the aggravated assault of six others. He currently faces nine counts.

He was determined fit to stand trial following the results of his second psychiatric evaluation in February. If he is found not criminally responsible for his actions, he may remain in a mental institution and not be released.