The prime suspect in the murder of three children in Merritt, B.C., will remain in hospital in Kamloops indefinitely after being admitted in the early-morning hours on Thursday.
Allan Dwayne Schoenborn, 40, was found on the outskirts of Merritt on Wednesday by a local hunter and his dog.
Schoenborn, who spoke with a lawyer at the RCMP detachment in Merritt overnight, was transported from the police station to Royal Inlands Hospital in Kamloops after investigators decided he needed medical attention.
RCMP Const. Annie Linteau would not disclose the nature of his illness. Police have previously alluded to Schoenborn's mental illness but have not given details about his health.
Typically police have a 24-period in which to lay charges against a suspect in custody, but the criminal code allows for special circumstances when a suspect is ill.
Charges could be sworn over the phone or at a hospital bedside by a justice of the peace but it is not clear whether Schoenborn is medically fit.
Shoenborn's lawyer, Rishi Gill, appeared in court on Thursday in relation to his client's violation of a peace bond in the week before the bodies of the children were found.
Gill would not comment on the health of his client, whose next appearance on those charges will be by video in Kamloops provincial court on May 2nd. Schoenborn will remain in custody until then.
"I ask the public through the press to let the process run its course," Gill said.
Merritt Mayor David Laird said to his knowledge, the mother of the children, Darci Clarke, remains in Nicola Valley General Hospital in the town, where Schoenborn was treated for dehydration on Wednesday before being taken to the RCMP detachment.
Clarke has been in hospital for most of the past week, heavily sedated and with family by her side, he said. Clarke's mother lives in Merritt.
The search
Local hunter Kim Robinson found Schoenborn on Wednesday morning after another resident alerted him to the suspect in a wooded area about 2 kilometres outside of town.
The resident told Robinson, who then spent about 15 minutes with Schoenborn before police arrived.
"I wasn't afraid of the man, no ... I kinda found a pathetic little guy," Robinson told CTV News. "I did what anybody else would have done."
Robinson said he was relieved to find the man after he had been looking for him every day of the ten-day manhunt.
Police have been searching for Schoenborn since April 6, after his three children, Kaitlynne, 10, Max, eight, and Cordon, five, were found dead in their family's mobile home.
No charges have yet been laid, but it is unclear whether Schoenborn will be medically fit to appear in court.
"We are hearing that if charges are to be laid, the likely charge will be a charge of second-degree murder -- three counts -- so this implies that police believe there is intent in this act but not premeditation," Brown said.
Reaction to the search and subsequent arrest
After hearing of his arrest, Schoenborn's cousin in Winnipeg, Val Truthwaite, said she is concerned for him.
"I know some people would want to hurt him, if they were in my position," she said. "But if he did murder those children, there's obviously something wrong psychologically, and people that are mentally ill, they can't help it, they didn't ask for it."
That a local resident found the suspect is raising questions about the police investigation.
Const. Annie Linteau said the police are confident in their search methods.
"You have to understand, it's a huge area ... (the public's) assistance was requested in locating Mr. Schoenborn, which is something the RCMP do on a regular basis," she said. "We do have citizens on patrol, programs, Block Watch in a number of communities. We certainly engaged the community in this instance and were successful in locating Mr. Schoenborn."
Merritt Mayor David Laird said he was not surprised the suspect was found somewhat close to the town.
"We were pretty sure he wasn't within the city limits anymore because everybody's gone and checked out their sheds and where anybody might be hiding ... but we basically felt he was in the area somewhere," he said.
Local residents are relieved about the arrest, saying the community feels safer.
"I had lots of fears, about getting the kids to school, getting them home. It's just easier," said one woman, whose children attend Diamond Vale Elementary.
Schoenborn was arrested three times in the week before the children's deaths, but was released on bail by a justice of the peace.
With files from The Canadian Press
An account has been set up to help support Clarke. If you would like to help, contact the Interior Savings Credit Union, call 250-378-5181, and ask for account 1186709.
