B.C. accepts change for psychiatric care after alleged attack by mentally ill man
A report into a triple stabbing at a festival in Vancouver's Chinatown last year says the man accused of the crimes had been let out of a psychiatric care facility 99 times in the year prior without incident.
The report, authored by former Abbotsford Police chief Bob Rich, says the suspect in the stabbing, Blair Donnelly, was on his 100th unescorted leave from the BC Forensic Psychiatric Hospital on Sept. 10, 2023, when he allegedly stabbed three festivalgoers at the Light Up Chinatown Festival.
The external review was ordered by the provincial government after the stabbings.
Donnelly was a resident at the hospital after he was found not criminally responsible for killing his daughter in 2006 while "suffering from a psychotic delusion that God wanted him to kill her," and he was then ordered to undergo treatment, the review said.
The man was granted an unescorted leave in October 2009, the report says, and he attempted to stab a man in Surrey, B.C., and was later sentenced to 45 days in jail for assault with a weapon.
Donnelly then went "eight years without incident," before assaulting another hospital patient in 2017, but was again found not criminally responsible and granted an "absolute discharge" by the court in that case, the report says.
Between August 2022 and Sept. 9, 2023, hospital records show that Donnelly was allowed to leave the hospital unsupervised 99 times without any issues.
Rich's report said he found no breaches in policy, but noted the hospital's "patient care model … is not optimal" for handling risky patients trying to "reintegrate" back into society.
"It is my opinion that some patients may never be well enough to live unsupervised in the community," the review said.
Rich's report makes several recommendations to better handle "higher-risk patients," including bolstering their care teams, improving policies around granting patient leaves, shoring up staff training in forensics and the use of "risk-management tools" such as GPS tracking systems.
The care team model includes a psychiatrist, a nurse and a social worker assigned to hospital patients for the duration of their stay, and had been in use at the facility before 2015, the review said, and should be policy again.
"Having a team that has witnessed the entirety of a patient’s hospital stay, and has in-depth knowledge of their index offence, is essential," the review said.
The B.C. Ministry of Health said Friday in a statement that it has accepted all of Rich's recommendations and has already begun implementing them including "following new polices for granting leave privileges at the hospital."
Suspects found not criminally responsible by the courts come under the jurisdiction of the BC Review Board, which holds hearings and issues decisions about whether a patient should be kept in custody or allowed to live in the community.
Before the stabbings, Donnelly had been before the board in April 2023 for an annual hearing, and it found he "continued to require intensive supervision" at the hospital before being allowed out on unescorted leaves.
The board's ruling from that hearing was leaked to the media after the attack, and Donnelly later tried to block publication of the board's reasons on privacy grounds, but the attempt was dismissed in October 2023.
The board said in its ruling that its decision making needed to be open and transparent because the function of the board isn't widely understood, even by those in the justice system.
"The Review Board’s role is to deal with individuals charged with criminal offences, often very serious criminal offences, who are either unfit, by reason of a mental illness, to stand trial or judged not criminally responsible as a result of a mental illness."
Court records show Donnelly is due back in Vancouver provincial court in March 2025.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Live updates: 'Extremely dangerous' Hurricane Milton brings high winds, destructive waves
U.S. forecasters are warning of destructive waves, devastating winds and flash floods through the week as Hurricane Milton makes its way from the Yucatan Peninsula toward Florida.
Poilievre supports Israel 'proactively striking' Iranian nuclear sites to defend itself
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is supporting Israel's right to defend itself against Iran following last week's ballistic missile attack, saying that right includes 'proactively striking Iranian nuclear sites and oil installations to defund the terrorist regime.'
How is Canada protecting customers buying from foreign e-commerce sites like Temu and Shein?
As U.S. regulators push for an investigation into what they call 'deadly baby and toddler products' from foreign e-commerce sites, health officials in Canada say they haven't determined whether any laws or regulations have been broken.
Most fathers say they spend equal time caring for their child — fewer mothers agree, survey says
When it comes to raising a child, the majority of fathers say they share tasks equally, but fewer mothers tend to say the same thing, according to a Statistics Canada survey.
'Selfish billionaire': Chip Wilson's mansion vandalized after political sign erected outside
Days after a political sign was erected outside Lululemon founder Chip Wilson's Vancouver mansion, the waterfront property has been vandalized with graffiti.
'Feel free to get naked,' witness testifies Toronto councillor told her during 'networking' weekend
Toronto Coun. Michael Thompson 'forced himself on' a woman who awoke to find him standing over her after she fell asleep drunk, the Crown alleged Monday, as the five-day sexual assault trial of the six-term politician began in Bracebridge, Ont.
Is Disney World still open as Hurricane Milton strengthens to a Category 5?
Despite Hurricane Milton evolving into a Category 5 storm, Walt Disney World Resort remains open to the public and will operate as normal. However, the park announced Monday a few closures in an abundance of caution.
Disgraced former Winnipeg football coach sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexual assault
A disgraced Winnipeg high school football coach convicted of sexual assault and luring will spend 20 years behind bars.
Two people injured in apparent road rage incident, shooting in Toronto
Two people are in hospital after they were chased and shot at in what appears to be an act of road rage before eventually flipping their car while trying to escape, police say.