Mentally ill man who killed mother, grandparents denied greater freedom

A mentally ill Nova Scotia man who killed his mother and two grandparents will not be allowed more freedom. Codey Reginald Hennigar was arrested in January 2015 after the bodies of his mother, Mildred Ann Ward, and her parents, Clifford and Ida Ward, were found following a fire inside a home in Wyses Corner, N.S.

Hennigar, 33, was tried on three counts of second-degree murder.

In January, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Judge Patrick Murray agreed with the defence and Crown that Hennigar, who had previously admitted to the killings, was not criminally responsible for his actions because of psychotic delusions caused by schizophrenia.

At the time, Crown attorney Mark Heerema said the victims died of a combination of bluntforce injuries to the head and smoke inhalation, and that at least one of the victims was still alive when the fire was set. A six-member Criminal Code Review Board decided Tuesday that Hennigar should continue to get escorted day passes, but should not be allowed broadened privileges.

The board’s chairman, Peter Lederman, said it was simply too soon to grant Hennigar unescorted day passes in the community.

He indicated the 5-1 decision stemmed from the fact that it had been only two months since Hennigar had completed the transition to a new antipsychotic drug regime. “We want to see a longer period of stability on the new drug,” Lederman told the hearing.

Hennigar has been allowed passes for escorted trips outside of the East Coast Forensic Hospital in the Halifax area since a similar hearing in March. While a team of health professionals from the hospital said Hennigar had made great progress with treatment, some family members and one neighbour were adamant that Hennigar should not be granted move privileges outside the institution. Hennigar’s younger brother, Chandler, told the board that he wanted to see his brother rehabilitated, but it was too soon to grant him more freedom.

“I’m not sold on it right now,” he told the board. “I think it’s too soon.”

Chandler Hennigar said he still suffers from night terrors and he worries about the safety of his family and the rest of the community.

“I have scars both inside and out,” he said. “There’s a scar on the inside that is never going to heal ... Please, don’t risk it yet.”