In 2019, Colin Francis was accused of killing Nestor Vasquez Jr. in a detention cell at the Queen Street police station.
He was detained there because on that same day, he stabbed nurse Augustine Elijio at the Port Loyola Mental Health Clinic after receiving psychiatric medication.
Colin Francis Jr., who's been on remand for the past 7 years, was previously diagnosed with schizophrenia when both these incidents had occurred and was classified as unfit to stand trial.
The prison psychiatrist has determined that he is mentally fit to take a plea on the basis that he had diminished responsibility due to his mental illness.
So today, the Crown accepted a guilty plea from him after his charge for murder was reduced to manslaughter. Francis pleaded guilty to both manslaughter and attempted murder, which the court accepted. His sentencing is now set for September 7th, 2026, and Justice Nigel Pilgrim has ordered that a Social Inquiry Report (SIR), Prison Report, and Victim Impact Statements be collected for both cases.
