De Grood granted additional freedoms
Supervised walks are among new freedoms recently granted to the man responsible for killing five Calgarians.
In a decision released Tuesday by the Alberta Review Board, Matthew de Grood has been granted additional liberties while detained at Calgary’s Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre, consisting of supervised grounds privileges and permission to leave the facility to attend medical appointments.
The decision comes a little less than two weeks after a review panel convened to gauge de Grood’s progress in his mental health treatments.
Last May, a Calgary court found him not criminally responsible for the April 2014 stabbing deaths of Jordan Segura, Lawrence Hong, Kaiti Perras, Joshua Hunter and Zackariah Rathwell at a Brentwood house party — killings carried out while de Grood was in a psychotic state.
Testimony during his trial stated he carried out the killings because he believed the world was about to end, and was locked in mortal battles with werewolves, zombies and vampires.
The report states de Grood, pending good behaviour and continued progress in his mental health treatments, may partake in walks around the facility’s grounds under the direct supervision of two staff members — an escort the report suggests should be “gradually reduced to regular supervision.”
De Grood may also be granted supervised excursions into Calgary to attend medical appointments or treatment, and must be escorted by facility staff and security.
Described as a “model patient” by facility staff, De Grood’s positive progress has already granted him privileges during his incarceration, including access to the Internet and a fenced exercise yard.