Family of Hamilton murder victim outraged by justice system

Family and friends of a Hamilton murder victim cried and sobbed in a John Sopinka Courthouse courtroom on Tuesday and they expressed outrage over the way the justice system is handling the killer.

The mother of 28-year-old Nikkolas or Nikko Sienna, Cathy Sienna says she’s angry, “there’s no justice for him. It’s wrong, it’s very wrong.” Nikko’s father, Louis Sienna says the justice and police system failed them, and his son, “start to finish, it’s sad. My poor son pays the price.”

The Crown and defence agreed in court that in July 2019, Mark Duckett, in his mid-20s, broke into the Sienna home next door in his west mountain neighbourhood and killed Nikko, shooting him twelve times and even stopping to reload his gun.

A psychiatrist testified that Duckett was schizophrenic, had hallucinations and delusions that the Sienna family was out to get him, which wasn’t the case, and didn’t know right from wrong. Police had been called hours before the shooting because of concerns about his behaviour, but left after giving him a warning.

Charged with first-degree murder, Duckett pleaded not guilty on the basis of mental illness and was found not criminally responsible for the murder, or NCR.

The victim’s family and friends were crowded into the courtroom, not convinced by the mental illness argument.

“I do not believe in the NCR that he was schizophrenic in that moment, because he waited until we were all sound asleep in bed and the lights went out and he did it. After he drove himself to the police station and he turned himself in. He knew right from wrong,” Cathy Sienna said.

The family is afraid Duckett will come after them next. They told the court how the murder has damaged their lives, breaking up families, and creating fear and PTSD.

There was evidence today that Duckett was allowed to legally buy the handgun he used in the killing even though he was showing signs of schizophrenia. The family says there’s a lot more to this case and they were hoping for a trial to bring out the facts. Now that Duckett has been found not criminally responsible he will be held in forensic psychiatric institutions, with an annual review of whether he still suffers from mental illness.

(UPDATE Jan. 11, 2023): A prior version of this story said the judge ordered that Duckett be taken to a hospital outside the Hamilton region within 30 days. The judge did indeed say that but we have since found out the judge then returned to the court after reporters left to say he did not have the authority to make that order and that a review board would have to make such a decision.