Close X
Monday, November 25, 2024
ADVT 
National

Hearing Delayed For High-Risk Designation Of Mentally Ill Dad Allan Schoenborn Who Killed 3 Kids

The Canadian Press, 13 Sep, 2015 01:41 PM
    NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — British Columbia's prosecution service has initiated the first attempt in Canada to designate a mentally ill man as a "high-risk" accused, years after he was declared not criminally responsible for killing his three children.
     
    But those arguments have been delayed while new defence lawyers for Allan Schoenborn read over "a fair degree" of disclosure describing the man's current psychiatric state.
     
    "We just don't know much about a lot of the information," defence lawyer Rishi Gill told a B.C. Supreme Court judge on Thursday. "We were just retained last week."
     
    The judge ruled that the first hearing for the unprecedented case would be adjourned for four weeks.
     
    The province's Criminal Justice Branch announced last week it was initiating an application for the "high-risk" label for Schoenborn.
     
    He was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder at a 2010 trial and confined to a psychiatric hospital in suburban Vancouver, which he has never left.
     
    A judge found Schoenborn was suffering psychosis when he stabbed his 10-year-old daughter and smothered his eight and five-year-old sons in their Merritt, B.C., home in 2008.
     
    The province is now seeking the designation created under new Conservative government legislation that gives power to the courts to indefinitely hold people found not criminally responsible.
     
    A successful application would reverse the decision by a three-member panel of the B.C. Review Board made last May, that granted Schoenborn escorted community outings.
     
    The tribunal's decision stated that Schoenborn's illness had been in remission for many years.
     
     
    The family of the victims, which has been pressuring the provincial and federal governments for tighter controls on Schoenborn, wants the B.C. Supreme Court to overturn the tribunal's decision.
     
    Schoenborn should be declared a threat to the public, said a spokesman for Darcie Clarke, Schoenborn's estranged wife and the mother of the three victims.
     
    Dave Teixeira told reporters outside the court that the family doesn't believe the Review Board made its decision using evidence.
     
    "They're looking at what I call 'touchy-feely sentiments,' and they're willing to take a chance on Mr. Schoenborn," Teixeira said.
     
    "Whereas, I believe that the courts will agree with the family and probably with most of Canadians that we're not willing and ready to take that risk with him just yet."
     
    The family wants the "high-risk" declaration made in order to legally allow the B.C. Review Board to put Schoenborn into treatment for three years, while banning him from opportunities to enter the community.
     
    Teixeira said sources at the psychiatric facility where Schoenborn lives, in Coquitlam, B.C., told the family the man has been involved in two fights since he was granted the permission for day trips.
     
    Schoenborn has not so far gone on any outings, according to the family's information, Teixeira added.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Canada Promises More Humanitarian Aid For Victims Of Conflict In Syria

    OTTAWA — Canada will be supplying additional humanitarian assistance for victims of the conflict in Syria.

    Canada Promises More Humanitarian Aid For Victims Of Conflict In Syria

    Post-Tropical Storm Henri Moving Over The Grand Banks And Out To Sea

    Post-Tropical Storm Henri Moving Over The Grand Banks And Out To Sea
    HALIFAX — The remnants of post-tropical storm Henri are moving across the Grand Banks off the east coast of Newfoundland.

    Post-Tropical Storm Henri Moving Over The Grand Banks And Out To Sea

    Drilling Company PHX Energy Services Cuts Half Of Workforce, 500 Jobs Lost

    Drilling Company PHX Energy Services Cuts Half Of Workforce, 500 Jobs Lost
    Calgary-based drilling company PHX Energy Services Corp. has laid off nearly 50 per cent of its workforce, putting more than 500 people out of work.

    Drilling Company PHX Energy Services Cuts Half Of Workforce, 500 Jobs Lost

    People Trying To Ride Beluga Whale In Newfoundland: Fisheries Department

    People Trying To Ride Beluga Whale In Newfoundland: Fisheries Department
    The federal Fisheries Department is investigating reports that people in eastern Newfoundland have been trying to lasso and ride a beluga whale that has been frequenting the area around Grates Cove.

    People Trying To Ride Beluga Whale In Newfoundland: Fisheries Department

    Ontario, Quebec Premiers Critical Of Senate Plans Floated By Federal Leaders

    Ontario, Quebec Premiers Critical Of Senate Plans Floated By Federal Leaders
    Ontario's Kathleen Wynne said NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair's proposal to abolish the Senate is not realistic and can't be done without provincial support.

    Ontario, Quebec Premiers Critical Of Senate Plans Floated By Federal Leaders

    Household Debt Ratio Grew In Second Quarter As Debt Increased Faster Than Income

    On a per capita basis, household net worth increased to $243,800.

    Household Debt Ratio Grew In Second Quarter As Debt Increased Faster Than Income