Midland murder trial resumes with victim’s mother testifying about mental state

Chris Forrester’s mother took the witness stand Friday in the second-degree murder trial of a man accused of killing her son three years ago.

She described her son as a man who struggled with severe anxiety, depression and panic attacks, conditions he managed with medication, including an antipsychotic once a month.

“If Chris didn’t take his pills, I stayed away from him,” she told the court. “It was devastating for me, because I didn’t know how to help him.”

Forrester had been living in a mobile home he rented from Rick Patrick for about a year before his death.

Tensions reportedly flared when Patrick filed a $10,000 claim for overdue rent with the property’s Tenants Board, giving Forrester three weeks to pay or face eviction.

Forrester’s mother helped him obtain a bank draft for the overdue amount and testified that an inspection of the mobile home by Patrick and two other men shortly thereafter left her son raped and upset.

“He just wanted to be left alone. After paying the money, I thought things would get better,” she said.

Chris Forrester died after being fatally stabbed in Midland, Ontario on December 16, 2024.

Forrester’s mother testified that her son’s mental state deteriorated rapidly after the inspection.

“Christopher was going crazy. He was having a nervous breakdown. Something broke. He wasn’t right after that,” she explained.

She told the courtroom that Forrester had sought treatment at the Waypoint Center for Mental Health in Penetanguishene and that they believed he suffered from borderline personality disorder.

Despite his struggles, his mother testified that he was optimistic during their last phone call the night he died, excited about Christmas with the family.

Earlier this week, the court heard the 911 call Patrick made, admitting he stabbed Forrester because he “tried to attack me.”

During the call, Patrick told the dispatcher that Forrester lunged at him because he was going to be deported.

Forrester suffered a single stab wound to the chest. The 36-year-old man died at the scene within minutes. Patrick invokes self-defense.

The trial, which will last three weeks, is expected to resume on Monday.