School stabbing suspect found unfit for trial

The B.C. Review Board has again found Gabriel Klein mentally unfit to stand trial for the killing of an Abbotsford high school student.

The board released its decision saying Klein will continue to be held at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam.

Klein’s lawyer, Martin Peters, said in an interview on Wednesday that it’s expected that his client will receive new medication and could make further court appearances if his mental state improves, but it’s uncertain if or when that might happen.

The board’s disposition released late Tuesday says Klein’s detention could be reviewed by Jan. 15, 2019.

Klein is charged with the second-degree murder of a 13-year-old girl and the aggravated assault of a second girl, for a stabbing at Abbotsford Secondary School in November 2016. The identities of the two girls are protected under a publication ban.

A B.C. Supreme Court justice ruled in April that Klein was unfit for trial, but at a hearing held last week in Coquitlam, Klein told the B.C. Review Board he wants to go to court as soon as possible.

The 22-year-old has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and told the board panel that he remains plagued by voices “every hour of the day.”

The Crown, defence and hospital all agreed during the hearing that Klein is currently unfit to stand trial and needs more treatment.

Dave Teixeira, who is acting as a spokesman for the family of the teen who was killed, said family members were not surprised by the board’s decision after hearing that Klein hears voices from at least three different personalities and has been slow to respond to medication.

“They clearly understand this is a very ill individual,” he said.

At the same time, he said it has been frustrating that they haven’t been able to get a definitive answer.

“It’s really kind of a hamster wheel for the family.”