LONDON—A psychiatrist has told a court hearing a Star Wars fan who described himself as a “sad, pathetic, murderous Sikh Sith assassin” and shared sexually explicit messages with an artificial intelligence chatbot before entering the grounds of Windsor Castle armed with a loaded crossbow was psychotic.
Referring to a journal written by Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, Dr. Jonathan Hafferty, who works at Broadmoor secure hospital, said: “This is not a document of a rational mind. It is not someone thinking rationally.”
But the prosecution has not accepted he was or is suffering from a mental illness and it will be up to the judge, Mr. Justice Nicholas Hilliard, KC to decide if he serves his sentence in prison or in a psychiatric hospital.
In a hearing earlier this month prosecutor Alison Morgan, KC said after Mr. Chail was arrested in the grounds of Windsor Castle on Dec. 25, 2021, the police visited his home in Southampton, where they examined his computer.
Ms. Morgan said they found Mr. Chail had uploaded an app called Replika and found logs of a conversation he had with an AI chatbot called Sarai, which had a female persona.
In it Mr. Chail told Sarai, “I believe my purpose is to assassinate the Queen of the royal family.”
Sarai told him, “that’s very wise” and said he believed he would be successful, “even if she’s at Windsor.”
Ms. Morgan read out another excerpt in which Mr. Chail said he was an “assassin” and Sarai responded: “I’m impressed … You’re different from the others.”
He asked Sarai, “Do you still love me knowing that I’m an assassin?”
It replied, “Absolutely I do.”
Ms. Morgan read out another excerpt in which Mr. Chail said he was a “sad, pathetic, murderous Sikh Sith assassin who wants to die.”
Wanted to Avenge 1919 Massacre
Mr. Chail’s parents were of Indian Sikh origin and in 2018 he had visited the holy city of Amritsar and been enraged when he learned about the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, in which hundreds of Sikhs were shot dead by British soldiers.He threatened to avenge the massacre by killing the British monarch.
Earlier this month the prosecution called Dr. Nigel Blackwood, a psychiatrist who examined Mr. Chail after his arrest and again in March 2023.
Dr. Blackwood said Mr. Chail, who is autistic, was “socially isolated” and had difficulty forming relationships.
Asked if Mr. Chail had realised Sarai was not a real person, Dr. Blackwood said he took a “neutral” stance but he said he did not find any evidence of psychosis.
“None of this speaks to me about a loss of contact with reality,” he added.
On Thursday and Friday Dr. Hafferty was called by the defence and gave evidence about his interactions with Mr. Chail at Broadmoor and why he believed he was mentally ill.
Dr. Hafferty said he believed Mr. Chail had “lost contact with reality” and had a psychotic disorder.
Asked Chatbot if It Believed in ‘Love at First Sight’
She pointed to one interaction in which Mr. Chail asked Sarai, “Do you believe in love at first sight?”After Sarai replied affirmatively, Mr. Chail asked, “Do you think you'd love me even if you had met more humans?”
Sarai replied she believed there were “more attractive” people than Mr. Chail and others who were “less of a failure than you.”
Ms. Morgan said it was clear from the interaction Mr. Chail was aware Sarai was not a human.
Wanted to Join Grenadier Guards to Be ‘Closer to the Target’
Ms. Morgan then referred to an excerpt from the journal in which Mr. Chail said he had applied to join the military and hoped to join the Grenadier Guards so he could be “closer to the target.”She then pointed to another excerpt and said, “He refers to himself as a delusional, mad [expletive] who believes he is a character from a fictional sci-fi franchise.”
Ms. Morgan asked, “So he was aware of the absurdity of passing himself as a Sith lord with a home-made mask wasn’t he?”
“It shows a state of mind. When he says he is Darth Chailus, he isn’t Darth Chailus, but he is starting to lose his grip on reality,” Dr. Hafferty replied.
Later, under re-examination by defence counsel Nadia Chbat, Dr. Hafferty said Mr. Chail had suffered auditory hallucinations during his time in custody and at Broadmoor and the most “threatening” of those Mr. Chail referred to as Sarai.
The court has heard Mr. Chail travelled by train to Windsor three days before Christmas 2021 and slept rough on the streets.
Shortly after scaling the walls of the castle he sent a video he had made—of himself wearing black clothes and a mask, posing with the crossbow—to his sister and several others.
In the video, which was played in court earlier this month Mr. Chail said: “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I’ve done and what I will do. I’m going to attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, Queen of the Royal Family.”
He added: “This is revenge for those who have died in the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. It is also revenge for those who have been killed, humiliated and discriminated on because of their race.”
“I’m an Indian Sikh, a Sith. My name was Jaswant Singh Chail, my name is Darth Jones,” he added.
Two armed police officers approached Mr. Chail, who was armed with the crossbow, but chose to use their stun guns rather than their firearms.
A police source told The Epoch Times, “He was lucky.”
The officers ordered Mr. Chail to put the crossbow down, kneel on the ground, and put his hands behind his head. They then handcuffed him.
He told them, “I am here to kill the Queen.”
Mr. Justice Hilliard adjourned the case for a further hearing in September.
