The lawyer for Derek Puffer, the man accused of killing former Cochrane Eagle sports columnist Billy Power and his wife Donna Lee, said Sept. 6 in Calgary that his client suffers from a significant mental illness.
Puffer, 39, was to discover the results of his psychiatric examination in a Calgary court, but the doctor who conducted the exam – Dr. Kenneth Hashman – was not available at the time of the court proceedings.
Puffer was submitted as a patient of the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatric Centre following the death of Powers and his wife.
Puffer is charged with two counts of second-degree murder, and was the stepson of Billy Powers.
The bodies of Billy and Donna Lee were found in their Calgary residence July 4.
Calgary police took Puffer into custody for questioning immediately following the discovery of the two bodies, and said Puffer had led them to the scene at approximately 5:20 a.m. in the city’s Braeside community.
A knife was found at the Powers’ residence, but police are not saying whether it was used in the murder.
