By Canadian Press

Gory murders, stabbings, kids slain: Killers found not criminally responsible

Sep 17, 2019 | 3:41 PM

EDMONTON — A review board at Alberta Hospital in Edmonton is deciding whether a man who killed five young people at a house party in Calgary should be given some increased freedom. A judge found Matthew de Grood not criminally responsible in the 2014 killings because he was suffering from schizophrenia. Here’s a look at some other cases in which the finding was made or sought.

Gregory Despres: Fatally stabbed two elderly neighbours in Minto, N.B., in 2005, decapitating one of them. Despres, a naturalized U.S. citizen, had crossed the border despite guards finding him with a small arsenal including a chainsaw, a sword and brass knuckles. He told them he was an assassin on a military mission. Three psychiatrists diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia. He was found not criminally responsible. 

Elaine Campione: Drowned her daughters, who were three and 19 months, in a bathtub in 2006 during a custody battle with her ex-husband. Doctors diagnosed the Barrie, Ont., woman with unspecified psychosis, post-traumatic stress disorder from spousal abuse, depression and an eating disorder. But the Crown successfully argued her mental illness didn’t prevent her from knowing right from wrong. Campione was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years.

Glen Race: Pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of Trevor Brewster and second-degree murder of Paul Michael Knott. Race suffered from schizophrenia and was not taking his medicine in May 2007 when he lured the Halifax men to their deaths. Court was told Race believed he was a vampire slayer and a god-like entity at the time of the killings. He was found not criminally responsible, based on a joint recommendation from the Crown and the defence.

Allan Schoenborn: Killed his three children, who were 10, eight and five, in Merritt, B.C., in April 2008. Schoenborn was diagnosed with delusional disorder and said he killed the children to protect them from an imagined threat of sexual abuse. He was found not criminally responsible and is in a psychiatric hospital in Port Coquitlam, B.C.

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Vincent Li: Fatally stabbed and beheaded Tim McLean, a young man who was sleeping next to him on a Greyhound bus in Manitoba in July 2008. Li told a mental-health advocate he heard the voice of God telling him McLean was an alien whom he needed to destroy. Li was found not criminally responsible and was sent to the Selkirk Mental Health Centre. He saw his privileges expand slowly until February 2016 when Li, now known as Will Baker, won the right to eventually move out of a group home and live on his own.

Francis Proulx: Shot Nancy Michaud, an aide to a Quebec cabinet minister, in the head after taking her hostage in 2008 while her two children slept. He took credit cards and banking information and had sex with her corpse. During his trial, he argued he had been on medication at the time and was not criminally responsible because of a mental issue. However, he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Guy Turcotte: Fatally stabbed his three-year-old daughter and five-year-old son in 2009. The Quebec cardiologist was found not criminally responsible and was sent to a psychiatric hospital in Montreal and released in December 2012. An Appeal Court overturned the verdict. In 2015, Turcotte was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 17 years.

Kimberly Noyes: Told police in 2009 that she had killed a 12-year-old autistic boy with a knife. Noyes, from Grand Forks, B.C., was found not criminally responsible for John Fulton’s death. Medical experts testified that she was bipolar and severely depressed, had gone off her medication and was hearing voices.

Miloslav Kapsik: Bludgeoned his wife to death with a hammer, hitting her more than 100 times while they were watching a hockey game in 2010. Court was told he had been hearing voices. Medical records showed the Winnipeg man was first diagnosed with severe depression in 2003. The defence’s attempt to argue he was not criminally responsible was unsuccessful. He is serving a life sentence for second-degree murder, with no eligibility for parole for 10 years.

Richard Kachkar: Stole a snowplow in January 2011 and in the middle of a two-hour rampage hit and killed Toronto police Sgt. Ryan Russell. Witnesses heard him yell about the Taliban, Chinese technology and microchips. He was found not criminally responsible.

Luka Rocco Magnotta: Killed and dismembered Chinese exchange student Jun Lin in May 2012. Experts testified Magnotta is schizophrenic and was psychotic and out of touch with reality the night of the slaying. The prosecution said Magnotta had made a promise several months earlier to take the life of a human being. He was found guilty of first-degree murder.

Trevor Kloschinsky: Killed Alberta peace officer Rod Lazenby, who had come to Kloschinsky’s rural property in August 2012 to investigate a dog complaint. He was charged with first-degree murder but found not criminally responsible. A judge ruled Kloschinsky’s delusional thinking prevented him from realizing what he was doing was wrong.

Daniel Goodridge: Stabbed two people to death at a northern Alberta work camp in June 2015. A male victim was stabbed more than 70 times and parts of his body cut off before it was set on fire. A woman who tried to help the man was also stabbed to death. Goodridge was charged with first-degree murder and interfering with human remains. His trial was told that he had been hearing voices and believed his co-workers wanted to assault him. Court also heard he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and had mental-health issues dating back to Grade 7. A judge found him not criminally responsible.

The Canadian Press