Former Buffalo Bandit and Syracuse Smash player Jason Luke was found not criminally responsible Monday in Kitchener, Ontario, in the murder of his father seventeen months ago.

Luke had admitted to the stabbing of Robert Lewis in Lewis' Waterloo, Ontario home on 23 November 2000, but claimed he was suffering from a mental disorder which left him unable to comprehend what he was doing or why it was wrong.

Justice Donald Gordon's verdict affirmed that claim, noting that Luke has been diagnozed as schizophrenic.

Luke will be sent to a psychiatric facility in Penetanguishene, Ontario, where he has been held for more than a year. In 45 days, a review board will decided whether to move Luke to a less secure facility or keep him at Penetanguishene.

George Walker, Luke's attorney, said that Luke has done well on anti-psychotic medication and that he could be released in a year.

"He's amenable to treatment and he wants treatment," Walker said outside court. "He's articulate and has an understanding of his illness."

Luke had been a promising young member of the Buffalo Bandits before suffering a serious knee injury in 1998, playing there for three seasons after starring for the St. Catharines Athletics (Ontario Lacrosse Association) Junior A team from 1993 to 1998. After a long rehabilitation, Luke attempted a comeback in 1999 with the Syracuse Smash, but suffered another knee injury. A shattered kneecap ended his career at the age of 24.

Luke's mental health deteriorated without lacrosse. He went days at a time without sleeping, fell into poor hygiene, and began hearing voices, which he claimed were telling him to kill people, including himself.

Diagnosed with a "schizophrenia-form psychosis and continuous auditory hallucinations" by a St. Catharines psychiatrist, Luke as prescribed anti-psychotic medicine, which, by the day of his father's death, he had stopped taking.

Sent to Waterloo by his stepfather on 18 November 2000 to visit Lewis, Luke travelled without spare clothes, believing he was being taken to Jamaica to be cured. Five days later, as Lewis was heading out to work, an altercation between father and son broke out, with Luke stabbing Lewis in the throat.

Lewis, 58, had been nearing retirement after a thirty-year career.

Luke then drove his father's car to Toronto, but when he ran out of gasoline, he called his mother to arrange a ride home to St. Catharines. When his family noticed blood on his clothes, they called police, who soon discovered Lewis' body at the bottom of the stairs in his home.

Gordon, in passing judgement, said to Luke and his family, "We all share the belief that life is precious... This community has lost a respected citizen. Jason's actions have no doubt caused turmoil and pain for his family. I wish you well."

The St. Catharines Standard contributed to this report. Thanks to Bill Stevens for submitting the Standard article.