Quintuple killer Matthew de Grood granted extra freedoms at psychiatric hospital
CBC News | Posted: April 19, 2017 2:09 AM | Last Updated: April 19, 2017
Treatment team says 'positive relationship' lead to increased privileges, victim's families opposed
The man who fatally stabbed five young people celebrating the end of university classes has been granted two new privileges by the Alberta Review Board: escorted outings around the grounds of the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre and trips around Calgary for medical appointments.
That decision follows a hearing held at the Calgary Courts Centre on April 6, designed as a progress report from de Grood's treatment team before a board comprised of a judge, lawyer, forensic psychiatrist and a member of the public.
Family members of de Grood's five victims were also given the opportunity to give statements. None of the families wanted the board to grant de Grood additional privileges.
"Including victims in the hearing is an attempt at appeasement that in reality has no effect on the decisions being made," Barclay Hunter told CBC News after the board released its decision to the families Tuesday.
"I continue to question the value of dragging people through such an agonizing process under the guise of doing something that will actually have an impact."
After a two-week trial last May on five counts of first-degree murder, de Grood was found not criminally responsible (NCR) after for fatally stabbing five people at a Calgary house party in April 2014.
The judge ruled he was in a psychotic state at the time of the killings — suffering from schizophrenia symptoms — and could not understand that his actions were morally wrong.
His victims are Lawrence Hong, 27, Joshua Hunter, 23, Kaitlin Perras, 23, Zackariah Rathwell, 21, and Jordan Segura, 22.
Families 'vehemently disagree' with privilege request
The now-annual reviews are standard for NCR (not criminally responsible) patients.
In a joint statement from April 6, the families said they "vehemently disagree with the treatment team's request for additional privileges... the idea that a person responsible for killing five people is allowed to walk the unfenced grounds of this facility without any security is beyond belief."
During the hearing, psychiatrist Dr. Sergio Santana testified that de Grood had been a "model patient," had a positive relationship with his treatment team and had been engaged and cooperative.
The review board directed the section head of the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre as having final approval over his new privileges.
Depending on how de Grood progresses, he would eventually be allowed to walk around the rural, unfenced grounds on his own.
De Grood will face another hearing next year — a prospect that weighs heavily on his victims' families, who all expressed resentment at having to attend hearings so close together that derail their healing processes.