Family calls Schoenborn release decision 'baffling'
The B.C. Review Board granted conditional discharge to child killer Allan Schoenborn, allowing him to live in the community unsupervised.
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Allan Schoenborn, found not criminally responsible for killing his three children in 2008, has been granted conditional discharge by the B.C. Review Board and will live in the community under supervision rather than remain in the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam.
Board chairperson Geneviève Boudreau's ruling, effective Tuesday, requires Schoenborn to report to a psychiatric clinic and live under supervision, but only return to hospital if the board orders it. He will live in a Vancouver-area facility where he has resided for the past year.
Schoenborn was found not criminally responsible for the stabbing and smothering of his three children—aged 5, 8, and 10—at their Merritt, B.C. home in 2008. Dave Texeira, representing the family, said the decision is "baffling" and reflects shortfalls in the province's mental health and justice systems.
Texeira says the family is disappointed but not surprised. He expressed concern that Schoenborn's violent tendencies and unwillingness to participate in drug and alcohol counselling pose a risk to the public, especially given he will be allowed into the community without constant supervision.
Schoenborn changed his name to Ken John Johnson in 2021, prompting the B.C. government to introduce legislation preventing people convicted of serious crimes from changing their names.
The release marks a significant shift in one of B.C.'s most notorious cases. The family's frustration underscores the tension between mental health treatment and public safety in cases involving not-criminally-responsible verdicts.