Michael George Ferzli is on trial for the 2024 stabbing death of Joseph Farnsworth. Ferzli acknowledges thinking about killing his roommate but is seeking a not criminally responsible verdict due to schizophrenia.
The accused, Michael Ferzli, testified that tension with his group-home roommate Joseph Farnsworth developed after Farnsworth tried to recruit him to a neo-Nazi group.
Ferzli has schizophrenia and anxiety and is asking the court to find him not criminally responsible for second-degree murder.
On the day of the incident, Ferzli said he had delusional thoughts referencing Cain and Abel and believed Farnsworth posed an ideological threat.
Michael George Ferzli, 43, is on trial for second-degree murder in the Aug. 27, 2024 death of 53-year-old Joseph Farnsworth. The killing took place during a supervised group-home outing to a corn maze in Parkland County. RCMP responded to the scene and body-camera footage was played in court during early testimony.
Court heard that Ferzli and Farnsworth initially got along while living at the same supervised group home for adults with serious mental illnesses. Over time, however, tension grew after Farnsworth allegedly tried to recruit Ferzli — a devout Christian, according to testimony — into a neo‑Nazi or Aryan gang. Ferzli told treatment staff he felt pressured and agitated by Farnsworth's behaviour and demeanour.
Ferzli described the situation in blunt terms while testifying. He told the court he had told a nurse: "He thought I was ready to join his Aryan race gang." He also used a colloquial description of their relationship: "It's hard for me to play nice in the sandbox with Joe."
Ferzli has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and also experiences anxiety. He told the court he had persistent thoughts during the summer before the stabbing about killing Farnsworth. He described these as delusional and referenced the biblical story of Cain and Abel, saying he had been thinking: "Cain and Abel… two went in and one came out… just some delusional thoughts I had."
That testimony is central to the NCR defence. Under Canadian law, an NCR plea argues the accused was suffering a mental disorder that made them incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the act or of knowing it was wrong.
The case raises questions about violence involving people with severe mental illness who live together in supervised settings, the adequacy of supports in group homes, and how courts apply the NCR defence in homicide cases. The trial will examine both the factual circumstances of the stabbing and the psychiatric evidence bearing on criminal responsibility.
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