A psychiatrist says a B.C. man found not criminally responsible for killing his three children still struggles with anger-management issues but his outbursts have dropped in frequency and intensity.
Dr. Marcel Hediger told a B.C. Review Board hearing today that Allan Schoenborn still struggles to put his anger management techniques into practice but has better insight afterwards into what caused him to react.
Hediger says while Schoenborn has improved in the last six months, it’s unlikely he would recommend the man be cleared for escorted outings into the community within the next year.
Schoenborn stabbed his 10-year-old daughter Kaitlynne and smothered his sons Max and Cordon, who were eight and five, in their home in Merritt in April 2008.
A judge ruled the man was not criminally responsible for the deaths because he was experiencing psychosis at the time he killed the children in the belief he was saving them from a life of physical and sexual abuse.
READ MORE: Review underway for mentally ill B.C. man who killed his three children
Schoenborn sat slumped in a chair during parts of the hearing, wearing a blue sweater, torn jeans and slippers.
A 2015 review board decision says Schoenborn was diagnosed as having a delusional disorder, a substance abuse disorder and paranoid personality traits, but his symptoms had been in remission for many years.
The review board sits in panels of three and can order someone to remain in custody or grant them either a conditional or absolute discharge. Custody orders can be tailored to individual cases.
Schoenborn consented to forego a hearing in 2016 while the B.C. Supreme Court heard arguments on whether he should be designated a high-risk accused.
A judge rejected the Crown’s application in August, ruling Schoenborn didn’t fit the criteria for the high-risk label, and while the killings were brutal, they were committed because of his delusional state.
Geordon Omand, The Canadian Press
