Judge rules child killer Allan Schoenborn not 'high-risk accused'

A B.C. Supreme Court justice has ruled child killer Allan Schoenborn does not meet the criteria for the high-risk accused designation.

Schoenborn was convicted of killing his three children, aged five to 10, in a Merritt trailer home in 2008. He was found not criminally responsible for the crime in 2010.

In rejecting the Crown application for the designation, Justice Martha M. Devlin said while the killings were brutal, they were committed because of Schoenborn's delusional state.

She added that while Schoenborn has been involved in several violent incidents while in custody, they don't fit the pattern of his earlier killings.

Children's mother calls decision 'shameful'

A statement from Darcie Clarke, the childrens' mother, was read at the courthouse by her brother, Mike.

In thestatement, Clarke said the result was unexpected, "shameful" and that public safety was not the "paramount concern" of the courts.

"With this ruling, Ihave lost all hope that there will soon be additional peace of mind that such drawn-out legal proceedings are now over," Clarke read.

"This means there won't be any better or longer treatment considerations for Allan."

Schoenborn's lawyer, Rishi Gill, also spoke to the media.

High risk designation would have impacted leave, reviews

The designation of high-risk accused was possible due to Criminal Code changes brought in by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2014.

A high-risk accused designation would have meant Schoenborn's ability to temporarily leave the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam, where he is being held, would have been cut off. Schoenborn was granted escorted day passes in 2015.

It also would have meant his status would be reviewed by a board every three years instead of annually.

An earlier trial found Schoenborn was experiencing psychosis at the time of the killings and believed he was saving his children from sexual and physical abuse.

With files from Jesse Johnston and The Canadian Press