Merritt, B.C. Dad Found Not Criminally Responsible For Killing His Three Kids

KAMLOOPS, B.C. - A Merritt, B.C., father was in a psychotic state when he killed his three children and is therefore not criminally responsible for his actions, a B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled.

Allan Schoenborn, 41, sat quietly with his head bowed Monday when Judge Robert Powers said he was guilty of three counts of first-degree murder but not to blame for what he'd done. Earlier, Schoenborn twice swore at Powers while he read his ruling.

Powers said no one can know for sure if Schoenborn was suffering from a mental disorder when he killed his daughter and two sons in April 2008 but that on the balance of probabilities it's more likely that he was.

During his trial, Schoenborn's lawyer maintained his client was living a "psychotic reality" and believed that killing his children was the morally right thing to do.

But the Crown maintained the murders were an act of revenge against the children's mother.

Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Shabehram Lohrasbe, who twice interviewed Schoenborn in jail, testified that Schoenborn told him he killed his kids because they were being sexually abused and it was his duty to protect them.

There was no evidence in court to suggest that the children were, in fact, being abused.

In his testimony, Schoenborn described how he slashed his 10-year-old daughter Kaitlynne with a cleaver and then suffocated eight-year-old Max and five-year-old Cordon.

In one chilling exchange, Schoenborn told the court that Kaitlynne fought back as he slashed at her neck and pleaded with him to forgive her.

The children's bodies were discovered in their home by their mother on April 6, 2008, when their father was to be caring for them.

Schoenborn's defence lawyer, Peter Wilson, cited the testimony of two psychiatrists as evidence that his client, who's never been professionally diagnosed with a mental illness, suffers from a major disorder.

Dr. Roy O'Shaughnessy told the court that he felt the killings were influenced by mental illness.

But Lohrasbe, who testified for the Crown, said that while he agreed Schoenborn suffered from illness, it was also possible he killed out of anger towards his estranged common-law wife after she severed their 15-year relationship.

Schoenborn would often veer off in odd directions and say things that didn't connect, Lohrasbe said of the man's behaviour during the interviews.

Lohrasbe told the court that when he asked Schoenborn to explain the days leading up to the children's death and what may have set off the murders, he gave a very unusual response.

"He said, 'the f**king day I met her,"' Lohrasbe testified last December, adding that Schoenborn was referring to the children's mother, Darcie Clarke.

He said Schoenborn told him that he didn't think of killing Clarke but that he murdered the children, saying 'Those kids are mine. Darcie is not mine to take.'

Lohrasbe also testified that Schoenborn told him he says good morning to his three dead children when he wakes up and good night when he goes to sleep.


Their bodies were discovered at their trailer home by their mother on April 6, 2008, when their father was to be taking care of them.

The former Vancouver roofer was found dehydrated, wandering in the woods with self-inflicted wounds to his wrists after a 10-day manhunt.