On this episode of the Global News podcast Crime Beat, crime reporter Nancy Hixt brings us Part 3 of her special series on the Brentwood Five massacre.
This episode takes an in-depth look at what it means to be found not criminally responsible in Canada.
Carol de Delley understands the anguish of what being found not criminally responsible can mean for the family of a victim as few others can. She lost her son, Timothy McLean, in one of the most high-profile cases in Canadian history in which the killer was found not criminally responsible.
In 2008, McLean was brutally attacked by a stranger — a man who sat next to him as they rode a Greyhound bus.
McLean was stabbed more than 100 times. He was mutilated and cannibalized.
Vince Li was charged with second-degree murder.
Less than a year later, he was found not criminally responsible for his actions.
Just eight years after that, Li — who changed his name to Will Baker — was granted an absolute discharge.
That ruling gave him complete freedom. He never has to receive treatment or take medication again if he chooses not to.
The families of the Brentwood Five are concerned the same thing that happened to McLean’s killer will happen to the man who killed their five children in spring 2014.
Matthew de Grood was originally charged with five counts of first-degree murder but was later deemed to be not criminally responsible for the stabbing deaths of Lawrence Hong, Kaiti Perras, Jordan Segura, Josh Hunter and Zackariah Rathwell.
The judge ruled de Grood was suffering from a mental disorder that rendered him incapable of knowing that his actions were wrong when he committed the worst mass killing in Calgary’s history.
The finding meant de Grood would not go to prison and would not have a criminal record.
He was no longer a part of the Canadian criminal justice system.
Instead, he was moved to the health-care system.
De Grood’s case is assessed on a yearly basis by the Alberta Review Board (ARB), and each year, the board has three options: to continue his treatment in a secure facility, to grant him a conditional discharge or to grant him an absolute discharge.
In the conclusion of Crime Beat‘s coverage of the Brentwood Five massacre you’ll hear from the families of the five victims and McLean’s mother. They are working together to lobby for a change in Canadian legislation so killers deemed to be not criminally responsible would be mandated to continue their treatment and monitoring indefinitely.
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Contact:
Twitter: @nancyhixt
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/
Email: nancy.hixt@globalnews.ca
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