B.C. Review Board grants conditional discharge to triple child killer Allan Schoenborn

VANCOUVER — The British Columbia Review Board has granted a conditional discharge to Allan Schoenborn, the man found not criminally responsible for the brutal 2008 murders of his three children..Chairperson Geneviève Boudreau’s decision allows Schoenborn, who legally changed his name to Ken John Johnson in 2021, to live under supervised conditions outside full hospital confinement while requiring ongoing psychiatric treatment. The disposition, issued following a recent hearing, is reviewable in one year.Schoenborn must attend a psychiatric clinic for treatment, reside at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam if ordered by the board, report any intimate relationships, maintain good behaviour, and refrain from possessing or using weapons or drugs.The decision has drawn swift criticism from victims’ advocates and local officials who argue it risks normalizing release for one of British Columbia’s most notorious child killers..In April 2008, Schoenborn killed his children — 10-year-old Cordon, eight-year-old Max, and five-year-old Kaitlyn — in their Merritt home amid a custody dispute with his then-wife. The children were found dead in their beds. Two were smothered and one was stabbed. Schoenborn fled into the woods and was arrested days later after a massive manhunt.At his 2010 trial, a judge found him not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder. He has been held at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam ever since, where his privileges have been incrementally expanded over annual reviews, including eligibility for unescorted leaves in prior years.The case shocked Canada and prompted reviews of how family courts and mental health services handle high-risk custody cases involving mental illness. A children’s watchdog report later suggested the murders might have been preventable had warning signs been heeded..Schoenborn’s name change to Ken John Johnson in 2021 sparked public outrage and led the B.C. government to pass legislation preventing individuals convicted of serious crimes from legally changing names to evade notoriety.Readers may recall a similar story involving the Greyhound bus killer. In 2008, Vince Li — later known as Will Baker — stabbed, beheaded, and cannibalized 22-year-old Tim McLean on a Greyhound bus in Manitoba.Found not criminally responsible due to schizophrenia, Li was granted an absolute discharge by the Manitoba Review Board in 2017 after changing his name, allowing him to live freely without supervision or mandatory treatment. The decision prompted widespread public outrage and highlighted concerns about the NCR system’s handling of high-profile violent offenders..The case of Blair Evan Donnelly may provide another cautionary tale. Donnelly was found not criminally responsible for stabbing his 16-year-old daughter Stephanie to death in Kitimat in 2006. After years at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, he was granted day passes. In September 2023, while on such a pass, Donnelly stabbed three strangers at Vancouver’s Light Up Chinatown festival. Premier David Eby expressed “white-hot” anger over the incident, vowing a review of the Review Board’s processes and public safety protocols. Donnelly was subsequently found NCR for the Chinatown attacks as well..The BC Review Board, an independent tribunal that oversees individuals found not criminally responsible or unfit to stand trial, bases decisions on balancing public safety, the individual’s mental health needs, and their Charter rights.This latest ruling comes nearly 18 years after the slayings that forever altered perceptions of domestic violence and mental health intervention in British Columbia.

B.C. Review Board grants conditional discharge to triple child killer Allan Schoenborn

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