A B.C. man found not criminally responsible for the killings of his three children about a decade ago has been granted the ability to take multi-day leaves from the Lower Mainland psychiatric hospital he was sentenced to.

Dave Texeira, spokesperson for the victims’ family, confirmed the decision on Friday (March 11). “This is not good for anyone,” he tweeted.

Allan Schoenborn has been held at the hospital since 2010 after being convicted of killing his 10-year-old daughter and two sons, aged eight and five, in April 2008.

He was diagnosed with delusional disorder and told his B.C. Supreme Court trial he killed his children to protect them from an imagined threat of sexual abuse. He has been in the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam since being deemed not criminally responsible.

In the latest annual review of his case, which started in early March, the B.C. Review Board was asked to consider whether a psychiatric hospital director should have the discretion to allow up to 28 days of overnight leave.

If Schoenborn were to be granted the leave, hospital psychiatrist Dr. Robert Lacroix told the board he would need to have housing and employment lined up and he would continue individual counselling and other supportive services.

At the time, Crown lawyer Michelle Booker told the panel they’re seeking to maintain the existing conditions of Schoenborn’s custody order, which allow him the opportunity for un-escorted leave during the day, with certain limits, but not for up to 28 days.

In a 2020 review, he had been granted the ability to leave for day trips. Schoenborn has taken about a dozen outings in the past year, usually with his mother, as well as un-escorted leaves.

@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
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