British Columbia

Allan Schoenborn's lawyer: escorted day trips part of rehabilitation

Child killer Allan Schoenborn's lawyer says his psychiatrist and hospital director believe escorted day trips away from the B.C. hospital where he lives would help his rehabilitation.

Schoenborn was found not criminally responsible due to mental illness after killing his 3 children

Allan Schoenborn has been living at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Port Coquitlam, B.C. after being found not criminally responsible in the deaths of his three children.

Child killer Allan Schoenborn's psychiatrist and hospital director say supervised community visits away from the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Port Coquitlam, B.C. would help his rehabilitation.

"The whole idea is for rehabilitation and for him to take those steps eventually when he is safe to do that. It's not meant to be a punishment for him to be at the hospital," Scott Hicks, Schoenborn's lawyer told The Early Edition.

Schoenborn stabbed and smothered his three children to death in 2008 but was found not criminally responsible due to a mental illness in 2010.

His recent request for escorted day trips is one of many he has made over the years, each of which have so far been denied by the B.C. Review Board. 

However, Schoenborn's case is reviewed annually and the board is once again considering whether he should be allowed more freedoms.

11 incidents in one year

Hicks said Schoenborn has improved in his time at the hospital.

"He's been fully compliant with his medications and is on board with them and they seem to have helped. He's been stable for years."

Schoenborn admitted to killing his children, Kaitlynne, 10, Max, 8, and Cordon, 5, in Merritt, B.C., in April 2008.

However, in the past year, Schoenborn has had 11 incidents of verbal or physical aggression with staff or patients at the hospital.

Stacy Galt, the cousin of Schoenborn's ex-wife, opposes his request for escorted day trips.

"They have no idea the complications that are going to be arising until they happen and that's not acceptable. I don't want them to wait until something happens. I want them to stop this now."

Supervised visits a 'modest privilege'

Hicks said if Schoenborn is granted supervised community visits, hospital staff will still have the discretion to determine if and when it is safe for him to go on the outings.

"In the work I do, it's quite a modest privilege, but I know it's not viewed that way by the public," he said.

Hicks said the first outing would be an "assessment outing" where Schoenborn would be escorted by two or more staff alone.

Depending on how that first visit goes, he might be able to go on staff supervised outings with fewer staff and more patients.

To hear the full interview with Scott Hicks, listen to the audio labelled: Allan Schoenborn's lawyer.