It was a trio of serious incidents that left two people dead, another fighting for their life and rocked communities across Manitoba before an alleged killer was in police custody.
However, recently unsealed court documents say the man charged with killing his parents and stabbing his colleague at a Winnipeg hospital last October, walked out of a mental health crisis centre just hours before.
Trevor Farley, 38, is currently behind bars after being charged with first-degree murder in the death of his mom, Judy Swain in New Bothwell, MB. and with second-degree murder in the killing of his father, Stuart Farley in Winnipeg.
An attempted murder charge was also laid against the 38-year-old after police say he stabbed his supervisor at Seven Oaks Hospital the same day.
Court documents, obtained by Global News, outline what officers say led up to the attacks on Oct, 27, 2021. The allegations in the court documents have not been tested in court.
The hours leading up to the attacks
The search warrants and sworn officer testimony paint a picture of a man suffering from mental health issues, delusions and hallucinations who, hours before the incidents, walked out of a mental health facility after repeatedly trying to get help.
On Oct. 26 Farley was involuntarily admitted to the Crisis Stabilization Unit under “Form 4” of the Mental Health Act.
A Form 4 allows a person to be taken to a psychiatric facility to be assessed when they are unwilling or unable to voluntarily consent to one.
“When a request for involuntary assessment is made by a physician, the individual in crisis remains at the CRC until a bed is available at an inpatient psychiatric ward or can be transferred to the emergency department if they have high acuity needs,” a Shared Health spokesperson told Global News.
While waiting for that to happen, “Farley later left the unit on his own” the next day, according to the court documents.
Shared Health said the CRC is not a locked facility and it is possible for patients to leave unless they are in a locked secure room. If that person leaves, and were being held there on a Form 4, “police are notified to find the person and transport them to the emergency department.”
However, before that happened, documents allege Farley went on a killing spree.
Timeline of events
His wife said she spoke to him around 10:30 that morning but then missed a call from him about 15 minutes later. When she called back shortly after noon, he didn’t answer.
She eventually called the RCMP to say she had concerns about Farley after a disturbing call with his mom.
The court documents say her call with Swain came to “an end, abruptly, when Swain began screaming and calling out Farley’s name.”
When RCMP arrived at her home in New Bothwell it was too late, according to court documents.
“Swain suffered significant head and facial trauma… she was not facially recognizable,” the report stated.
Court documents say officers then pinged Farley’s cellphone to track his location, which led them to Seven Oaks Hospital where Farley worked.
It was there, where Farley is accused of stabbing a nursing supervisor 14 times in the front and back of her body.
When police arrived the documents say they found him “holding what appeared to be a knife with a 7-inch blade, chasing after a female. Officers said that after making eye contact with the suspect he dropped the knife and surrendered.
Police later went to Farley’s father’s Winnipeg home where they found the 73-year-old dead with two stab wounds in his chest and stomach, according to court documents.
Officers believe Stuart Farley was killed first, alleging his son then went to New Bothwell to kill his mom before finally heading to Seven Oaks Hospital.
Farley tried to get help in the days prior
Just 48 hours before he left the the crisis response unit, his wife told police he was turned away from the facility because they didn’t have room for him.
According to documents, Farley’s estranged wife said he had been suffering from help issues for the past four year. She told police the week before the murders she went with him to seek help at the Mental Health Crisis Response Centre on Winnipeg’s Bannatyne Avenue.
However, he “later left because they were unable to secure a bed for Farley” the documents said.
Farley and his wife then went to the Health Sciences Centre but they left before he was seen by a doctor, a Winnipeg police officer said in one of the documents.
He then went to St. Boniface Hospital and was given a prescription for medication, however the documents allege the dosage was lowered by a pharmacist when it was filled.
It was just days later police allege he committed the trio of crimes.
Farley’s trial is scheduled to begin next October and he has yet to enter a plea before a judge.
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