B.C. father who killed kids might not get leaves

Escorted leaves for Allan Schoenborn, the father who killed his three children at their Merritt, B.C., trailer home, will be reconsidered by the B.C. Review Board, Attorney General Barry Penner says.

Last week, the provincial tribunal ruled that Schoenborn could be granted passes to leave thepsychiatric hospital in Port Coquitlam for outings in the community.

But Penner said Wednesday that new information that Schoenborn's wife lives in Coquitlam has prompted the new review, which should take place within the next 14 days.

The head of the hospital said earlier Wednesday that the board's orginaldecision should not have been taken to mean that escorted leaves would automatically be granted to Schoenborn, especially in light of the news of his wife's proximity to the facility.

"This is new information, and this is the kind of information where our deliberations and our decision-making may well change as a result of this,"Dr. Johann Brink of the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Port Coquitlam.

"Of course we do not want to place anybody in harm's way. We certainly would not do that in any deliberate or careless manner."

Schoenborn was found not criminally responsible for killing his kids three years ago in Merritt, saying he took their lives to prevent them from being molested.

Wife found children

Schoenborn's ex-wife, Darcie Clarke, found the children dead in her home on April 6, 2008. Ten-year-old Kaitlynne was in her bedroom, her throat slashed, while eight-year-old Max and five-year-old Cordon were lying on the couch, suffocated.

Last year, Schoenborn requested at his first review hearing to be discharged completely from the hospital but was denied on the grounds he was still a threat to society.

At a review board hearing last week, Schoenborn said this time around he wants to keep taking his medication and remain living at the hospital.

"I'm looking for the answers to what happened, and I don't want anything to gum up the works," he said.

He said he wanted the escorted leave to do simple things, such as look for a job or have a cup of coffee.

Crown lawyer Lyle Hillaby supported the supervised visits but told the review board that Schoenborn "is not to be trusted" because of his history with violence and anger.

Scott Hicks, Schoenborn's lawyer, said his client had committed no violent act over the past year and that his disorder was in remission, so it was "realistic" to grant him community visits at Brink's discretion.