CALGARY — A review board is hearing a Calgary man found not criminally responsible for the stabbing deaths of five young people has been a model patient.
Matthew de Grood was suffering from a mental disorder when he attacked and killed Zackariah Rathwell, 21; Jordan Segura, 22; Josh Hunter, 23; Kaitlin Perras, 23, and Lawrence Hong, 27 at a house party three years ago.
The judge in the case ruled de Grood didn't appreciate his actions were wrong.
A hearing underway before the Alberta Review Board is determining whether de Grood, who is housed in a secure hospital, should be granted more freedom.
Dr. Sergio Santana told the hearing de Grood is on medication for schizophrenia and hasn't had any symptoms for almost three years.
Santana says de Grood willingly takes part in his treatment and gets along well with other patients.
His family is also taking part in de Grood's treatment, Santana said.
"He's very lucky," he told the hearing Thursday. "He has a very supportive family."
Santana said de Grood has been given a card which allows him to leave the hospital unit and go to a grassy courtyard. He's recommending de Grood be allowed to walk around the hospital grounds for up to half an hour under supervision.
"This would happen gradually over the course of a year," said Santana, adding his privileges would be curtailed if there were any problems.
The hearing, which is expected to wrap up Friday, comes just one week before the third anniversary of the attack.
At de Grood's last board hearing in July, panel members were told he was responding well to treatment for schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The board can decide to keep de Grood in a secure hospital, allow him into the community with conditions or grant him a full discharge.
Ronda-Lee Rathwell, who lost her son, has prepared a victim impact statement which she hopes to read to the panel.
She said she and other family members of the victims want de Grood to be deemed high risk. That would mean review board hearings would take place up to three years apart and unescorted passes into the community could be denied.
"I don't believe that he can be cured or that he can ever be safe in the public and not able to do this again," she said in a recent interview.
