Appeals court denies release of man who killed five people in Calgary

A man who stabbed five young people to death at a house party in Calgary will not be released from a group home following a ruling Thursday from Alberta’s highest court.

Matthew de Grood, now in his early thirties, was found not criminally responsible in 2016 for the murders of Zackariah Rathwell, Jordan Segura, Kaitlin Perras, Josh Hunter and Lawrence Hong. He suffered from undiagnosed and untreated schizophrenia at the time of the 2014 stabbings.

He asked the Alberta Court by Appeal for an absolute or conditional discharge so that he can be closer to his family in Calgary and reintegrate into society.

His lawyer, Jacqueline Petrie, argued that a mental health review board misunderstood the medical evidence on De Grood’s 2022 risk assessment and that he does not pose a risk. She said he should get an absolute release.

The Court by Appeal said de Grood could not argue for any error of judgment.

The three-judge panel, while unanimously the appealsaid it was reasonable that the review committee felt de Grood still posed a risk of serious violent behavior.

They said that while the Grood is “undoubtedly much less dangerous” compared to when the stabbings occurred in 2014, “his transition to unrestricted community life won’t happen overnight.”

“It’s a journey for him,” the judges said.

In 2019, the Alberta Review Board allowed him to live in a group home in Edmonton after his treatment team reported he was in remission.

Since he continues to live under supervision in a group home, the Groods case must be reviewed by the board each year to see if he can return to his community while maintaining public safety.

The court said de Grood “undoubtedly made progress, but the treatment team thought his health is still fragile.”

“He responds very well to his oral medication, but any disruption to that medication could cause him to compensate,” the judges said.

Petrie argued that the 2022 assessment board’s risk assessment was biased and influenced by comments made by former Attorney General Doug Schweitzer.

Following the 2019 decision to allow de Grood to live in the group home, Schweitzer said he would advocate for Ottawa to make changes to release standards and request that the Alberta Review Board include the maximum possible input from victims during the hearing process.

The judges said a justice minister has “by virtue of his office” the right to challenge and promote changes in the province.

“There is nothing objectionable about a minister asking questions or lobbying for changes to the assessment procedures,” the ruling said.

De Grood also argued that there were issues with the fairness of the proceedings.

Are appeal said a parent of one of the slain young adults “unlawfully accessed his and his family’s private health records.” The claims were investigated by the Information and Privacy Commissioner, but no charges were brought.

The judges said allegations that the parent’s presence during the virtual interrogation could compromise the safety of de Grood or his family, or compromise the fairness of the proceedings, “were not realistic”.

They said Grood’s complaints about the fairness of his hearing were unfounded.