Notorious child killer Allan Schoenborn won’t be receiving mandatory day passes from the Forensic Psychiatric Institute in Coquitlam, but supervised visits approved by the hospital to the community are still a possibility, a review board has confirmed.
The decision released to the public this week is virtually unchanged from previous decisions of the BC Review Board, according to a spokesperson representing the family.
Dave Teixeira, who is speaking for Darcie Clarke, the mother of the three children who were murdered in their Merritt home in the spring of 2008, said the family is not surprised mandatory outings were not granted because Schoenborn is still considered a “significant threat.”
But while mandatory outings have been denied, the hospital director could permit a supervised outing, according to the ruling.
Teixeira said the hospital should be required to notify the family if Schoenborn is allowed out because of the potential of an accidental run-in.
“The family wants to be notified so they can stay away,” Teixeira said, adding that he’s disappointed the review board didn’t require advance warning if Schoenborn is given permission for a community outing.
He’s also concerned that the hospital isn’t required to let police know, and while a community visit would be supervised, the fact that an updated photo would not be released, along with Schoenborn’s whereabouts is a concern because the 50-year-old looks vastly different from his mug shot taken a decade ago.
“He doesn’t look anything like these photos,” Teixeira said, noting that Schoenborn is now nearly bald and 70 pounds heavier than he was when the murders occurred. “There is a concern,” Teixeira said, “so they [the victims] aren’t traumatized by any such unintentional interaction.”
In the decision, Dr. Marcel Hediger is reported as saying Schoenborn needs to improve his ability to manage his emotions and anger should challenges arise in a visit to the community. “Dr. Hediger is not yet confident in his [Schoenborn’s] ability to manage such and eventuality appropriately,” the review board ruling states.
However, Hediger suggested Schoenborn could be considered for an assessment community outing with careful supervision and management to avoid potential risks, such as “a walk along an area where there’s no public involved…for a brief period of time.”
Such an outing could be considered in the next six months, Hediger suggests, although numerous requirements would have to be met, such as the accompaniment of two trained staff.
Teixeira said such an assessment outing has been suggested in the past but has never been implemented and should be removed by the next annual review in January, 2020, if it hasn’t taken place by then.
