Steven Bourgoin appears in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington on May 8, 2017. Bourgoin is accused of causing a crash in October of 2016 that left five teenagers dead. Pool photo by Glenn Russell/The Burlington Free Pres
Expert witnesses for both the prosecution and defense now agree Steven Bourgoin was insane in October 2016 when he drove the wrong way on Interstate 89 in Williston and caused a fiery crash that killed five Mad River Valley teenagers.
According to new court records, defense lawyer Robert Katims said he recently learned that the state’s expert — Dr. Reena Kapoor, a psychiatrist from Yale School of Medicine, who had three interviews with Bourgoin and reviewed voluminous medical and prison records — had come to the same conclusion that a defense expert determined about sanity.
Katims is asking the Vermont Superior Court to issue a subpoena to compel Kapoor to testify at both a deposition in Connecticut and Bourgoin’s trial, which is due to begin April 29 in Burlington.
Katims, in his court filing, said the state does not plan to call Kapoor to the witness stand and the prosecution now objects to Kapoor being called by the defense.
Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George has yet to respond to the court filing and did not respond to phone and text messages on whether she will contest the motion.
Katims said he learned that George’s office was told by its own expert Jan. 29 that Bourgoin “suffered from a mental disease and was unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions or conform his conduct to the requirements of law at the time of the offenses.”
On Feb. 6, “the state unceremoniously informed the defense via email that it had ‘decided not to call Dr. Kapoor as our expert witnesses and we do not have a report from her to disclose,’” Katims wrote in his motion.
“Despite a clear obligation to provide the defense with Dr. Kapoor’s opinion that was favorable to the defense, the state disclosed nothing at that time.”
Only after a direct request by the defense did the state reveal that Kapoor had made the same findings as Dr. David Rosemarin for the defense.
If Bourgoin, 38, of Williston is found insane by a judge or jury, it’s up to the court to decide if he should remain in custody. If he is still suffering from the same mental condition, he could be held. If not, the judge could release him, possibly with conditions.
The state has said Bourgoin was speeding, driving the wrong way on I-89 and had high levels of THC — the active ingredient in marijuana — in his blood when he slammed into the teens’ vehicle at about 11:50 p.m. Oct. 8, 2016.
Then-Chittenden County State’s Attorney TJ Donovan charged Bourgoin with five counts of second-degree murder. Bourgoin has pleaded not guilty. Each homicide charge carries a possible sentence of 20 years to life.
Killed were Eli Brookens, 16, of Waterbury; Janie Chase Cozzi, 15, of Fayston; Liam Hale, 16, of Fayston; Mary Harris, 16, of Moretown; and Cyrus Zschau, 16, of Moretown. The teenagers were returning home from a concert at Higher Ground in South Burlington. Four victims attended Harwood Union High School in Duxbury, while Cozzi had transferred to Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire.
Bourgoin has pleaded not guilty to five counts of second degree murder. If convicted, each homicide charge carries a possible 20 years to life sentence.
State police have estimated Bourgoin was going 79 mph when his vehicle hit the teenagers’ 2004 Volkswagen Jetta, which burst into flames, police said. As a Williston police officer raced toward the wreck, Bourgoin stole his police cruiser, drove south on the interstate, made a U-turn when he saw police, and was going 107 mph when the cruiser piled into the wreckage from the first crash.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Defense lawyer says prosecution’s expert found Bourgoin insane.