The trial of the man charged in the 2015 stabbing death of Shannon Simone Kochie finally began in North Bay Monday.

41-year-old Ryan Neil faces charges of second-degree murder, arson and uttering threats.

At times quite graphic and, as the judge describes it, “bone chilling,” Monday's court proceeding heard in great detail how the victim was murdered and about the state of mind of the accused in the years leading up to the incident on December 14th, 2015.

“My sister was a beautiful soul. She would give the shirt off her back for anyone. She would help anyone. She was beautiful.” said Kim Kochie-Westerlund, the victim’s sister.

Neil pleaded not guilty to the charges due to mental instability.

In the case presented to the court, both the Crown and defence agree that the accused had been suffering years of mental health issues and had actually been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had a history of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety.

The judge in Monday's proceeding agreed the accused had been suffering from a disease of the mind, and as a result the case will now go before the Ontario Review Board to further examine the future of the accused. 

For the family of Shannon Kochie, they say their nightmare is far from over.

"It doesn't feel like justice it doesn't feel like closure. When there probably, we'll probably never feel like there's closure there's no sentence that's long enough for us." said Kochie-Westerlund.

The court also heard from the Crown, a letter the accused's mother had written eight years prior to the death of Kochie, expressing concern that her son was unstable and that he might hurt her or someone else.