KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Allan Schoenborn has been found not criminally responsible for the 2008 murders of his three children.
“I find that Mr. Schoenborn did commit the first degree murder of each of his children as described in the Indictment, but is not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder,”wrote B.C. Supreme Court Judge Robert Powers in his ruling, released Monday.
Schoenborn, 41, had pleaded not guilty to the first degree murders of Kaitlynne, 10, Max, 8 and Cordon, 5, who were found dead in the family trailer in Merritt, B.C., on April 26, 2008.
Their mother, Darcie Clarke, made the gruesome discovery. Her two sons had been smothered and her daughter stabbed to death.
Police launched an extensive manhunt and Schoenborn was arrested in the hills above Merritt 10 days after the murder.
Schoenborn admitted to killing his children but testified during his three-month trial that he feared they were being sexually abused and that killing them was the only way to end their suffering.
During the trial, which did not include a jury, the Crown argued Schoenborn killed his children to get revenge on Ms. Clarke, who had told him she didn’t want to continue their common-law relationship.
His defence has maintained Schoenborn was psychotic or delusional when he killed his daughter and two sons, and should not be held criminally responsible for the murders.
The Crown and the defence each hired a separate psychiatric expert to testify at the trial.
Merritt is a small community 270 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.
Comments