Crown: Child killer remains threat
NEW WESTMINSTER — The crimes of a man who stabbed his daughter to death and smothered his two sons are so brutal that he should be barred from escorted outings into the community, a Crown attorney says.
Wendy Dawson asked a B.C. Supreme Court judge on Monday to label Allan Schoenborn a high-risk accused, pointing to his lengthy history of physically and verbally abusive behaviour. Schoenborn was found not criminally responsible because of a mental disorder for killing his three children, ages five to 10, at the family’s home in Merritt in April 2008.
“Offences of such a butal nature … indicate a risk of grave physical or psychological harm,” Dawson told the court in New Westminster.
“There’s a substantial likelihood that Mr. Schoenborn will use violence that could endanger the life and safety of another person in the future.”
Schoenborn’s lawyer, Rishi Gill, said he would not dispute the “brutal nature” of his client’s offences.
The criminal trial found Schoenborn was experiencing psychosis at the time of the killings and believed he was saving his children from sexual and physical abuse, though no evidence suggested this was the case.
“He has instilled terror and fear and caused significant psychological harm in many persons, including his own family members,” Dawson said.
“The murders are really a culmination of a lifetime of violence.”
Dawson referenced the testimony of several witnesses who spoke at a previous high-risk accused hearing to highlight what she described as the man’s aggressive tendencies.
Barry Cooper, a psychologist who treated Schoenborn for anger management between 2013 and 2015, told the court it was clear the man has had a bad temper for most of his life, Dawson said.
If Schoenborn is designated a highrisk accused, it would severely limit the possibility of outings for him and extend the time between his reviewboard hearings to three years.
Proceedings are expected to last until the end of the week, and June 26 is the anticipated start date for arguments around whether the designation of high-risk accused complies with the charter.