Schoenborn fate in hands of judge

The trial of a B.C. man who admitted killing his three children has wrapped up and a ruling in the case is expected next month.

Allan Schoenborn is facing life in prison for three counts of first-degree murder.

The fate of Schoenborn, 41, is in the hands of B.C. Supreme Court Judge Robert Powers, who heard the case without a jury during the three-month trial in Kamloops.

Powers must decide whether Schoenborn was driven by mental illness or more sinister motives when he slashed his 10-year-old daughter to death and smothered his eight- and five-year-old sons in Merritt in April 2008.

Defence lawyers said Schoenborn was not criminally responsible due to mental illness but the Crown argued the killings were an act of revenge against their mother for refusing to renew their relationship.

Both the Crown and the defence called in psychiatrists to testify about Schoenborn's mental state leading up to and during the slayings.

The defence expert cited Schoenborn's history of schizophrenia and said he was delusional when he killed his children.

The Crown's psychiatrist agreed the defendant was a victim of mental illness but said it was not possible to tell if he was of sound mind the night of the killings.

Powers is scheduled to hand down his decision Feb. 22.