Family of man found not criminally responsible in parents' deaths suing health officials

The family of a couple killed by their son in 2021 is suing Manitoba health officials, alleging the man sought help for mental health issues before the killings but did not get adequate care.

Last week, Trevor Farley, 39, was found not criminally responsible due to mental disorder in the Oct. 27, 2021, deaths of his parents, Judy Swain and Stuart Farley. Farley also attacked his former supervisor at a Winnipeg hospital on the same day.

A statement of claim filed Tuesday with Manitoba Court of King's Bench by three of his siblings — Russell Farley, Paul Farley and Sharon MacLeod — alleges the Mental Health Crisis Response Centre in Winnipeg failed to properly care for Trevor when he went there for help a day before the killings.

It names as defendants the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and the Winnipeg-Churchill Health Region — the legal entities responsible for health-care services and facilities in Winnipeg — as well as the provincial health organization, Shared Health.

The statement of claim says on or about Oct. 26, 2021, Trevor went to the Mental Health Crisis Response Centre — next to the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg — in an effort to seek assistance for mental health issues and spent the night there.

Between 12:24 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 27, he was assessed by a clinician at the crisis centre and reported experiencing "delusions and hallucinations as well as suicidal thoughts," the statement of claim says. 

A few hours later — around 8:50 a.m.— he was assessed by a physician assistant at the centre and it was decided he should undergo an involuntary psychiatric assessment, the statement of claim said. At that point, a physician at the centre completed what's known as a "Form 4."

A Form 4 allows an individual to be taken to a psychiatric facility for an assessment by a psychiatrist when they are either unwilling or unable to consent to a voluntary assessment.

If a person under a Form 4 is deemed to be at risk of harming themselves or someone else, they are to be moved to a locked, secure room under the constant supervision of staff, the lawsuit says.

However, the Crisis Response Centre is not a locked facility, meaning that unless a person is in a locked room, they may be able to leave. 

The suit says although he was under the "belief he was a prophet, having delusional and auditory hallucinations and … suffering from intense suicidal thought," Trevor was not placed in a locked room for monitoring, "contrary to established procedure."

About three hours after being seen by the physician assistant at the crisis centre and at some point after the Form 4 was completed, he left the centre.

Staff called 911 so police could look for him, the statement of claim said. 

As a Manitoba court heard earlier this month, Trevor then went to the home of his father, Stuart Farley, on Toronto Street in Winnipeg, where he killed him.

Trevor then went to the home of his mother, Judy Swain, in New Bothwell, Man., and killed her.

He then drove to St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, once again seeking mental health treatment, court heard. A nurse there told investigators she had an "unusual interaction" with him before he walked out about 15 minutes after he arrived.

Farley then went back to the crisis response centre, but only got as far as the vestibule before turning around and leaving moments later, court heard.

After that, he drove to Seven Oaks Hospital in the city's northwest, where he attacked Candyce Szkwarek, his former supervisor, stabbing her several times.

Police captured him just outside the hospital, after he was tackled and chased by a doctor there.

On Oct. 17, Court of King's Bench Justice Ken Champagne found Trevor Farley — who was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his mother, second-degree murder in the death of his father, and attempted murder in the stabbing of Szkwarek — not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder.

The next day, Champagne designated him a high-risk accused.

Breach of duty alleged

The lawsuit filed by the family says the defendants "breached the duty they owed to Stuart and Judy."

It alleges they failed "to transfer Trevor to a locked in-patient facility in a timely fashion," or keep him in a locked and supervised room until one was available, and failed "to take reasonable steps" to keep him from leaving the crisis centre before he could be properly assessed and treated.

It also alleges he was not adequately assessed to "appreciate the risks he posed to himself and others," and that staff at the centre were not adequately trained "on proper procedures in dealing with a person who was the subject of a Form 4."

The lawsuit claims damages to compensate the three plaintiffs, and a group of other relatives identified in the statement of claim, for the loss of guidance, care and companionship after the killings, in accordance with the provisions of the Fatal Accidents Act.

Under the act, Russell Farley, Paul Farley and Sharon MacLeod could be awarded $30,000 each. 

Other relatives listed in the claim, including siblings and grandchildren of the victims, could be awarded $10,000 each under the act. 

The plaintiffs are also suing for damages including funeral expenses, mental distress damages, punitive damages and the cost of retaining lawyers.

CBC Manitoba has reached out to Shared Health and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, both of whom declined to comment because the matter is before the courts.

The allegations have not been tested in court and a statement of defence has not been filed.