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    Reasons for Judgment of the Honourable Mr. Justice Eric F. Macklin

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    Matthew De Grood Judgment

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    Reasons for Judgment of the Honourable Mr. Justice Eric F. Macklin

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    26K views21 pages

    Matthew de Grood Judgment

    Uploaded by

    CTV Calgary
    Reasons for Judgment of the Honourable Mr. Justice Eric F. Macklin

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    [CLERK OF THE COURT] Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta EIEED MAY 25 2016 Citation: R v de Grood, 2016 ABQB 294 CALGARY, ALBERTA Date: Docket: 140419615Q1 Registry: Calgary Between: Her Majesty the Queen aul - Matthew Douglas de Grood Accused Reasons for Judgment of the Honourable Mr. Justice Erie F. Macklin L Introduction [1] Matthew de Grood is charged with five counts of fist degree murder contrary to $235(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada, RSC 1985, ¢ C-46 in the deaths of Joshua Barclay Hunter, Kaitan Ashley Pera, Jordan Gabriel Segura, Lawrence Martin Hong and Zackariah James athe {2] Mr. de Grood has acknowledged that he caused the deaths ofthe ive victims. He pleads that he isnot riminally responsible onthe bass that he was suffering from a mental disorder at the time ofthe offences. Page:2 ML, Background Facts [3]__An Agreed Statement of Facts has been entered as an Exhibit in these proceedings. The following fcts do not include all ofthe agreed facts, but only are those necessary to comprehend the magnitude ofthe events on the date in question. Those facts which are important to this ‘Courts ultimate determination as tothe condition of Matthew Douglas de Grood atthe time wall ‘be discussed below in the context of the evidence relating to his mental condition. [4], The victims of the offences ae Joshua Barclay Hunter, Kaitlan Ashley Perras, Jordan Gabriel Segura, Lawrence Martin Hong, and Zackariah James Rathwell. All of the victims were in their ewentis [5] Mr. Hunter, Ms. Perras, Mr. Segura, Mr. Hong and Mr. Rathwell were stabbed at approximately 1:15 am, on April 15,2014. They were stabbed at the residence located at 11 Butler Crescent, in the City of Calgary, in the Province of Alberta, Each of them was stabbed and killed by Matthew Douglas de Grood 8) Matthew de Grood’s Background [6]__ Mr. de Grood was 22 years old onthe date ofthe offences, He was living with his ‘mother, Susan de Grood, his father, Douglas de Grood and his 23 year old sister in southwest Calgary. [7] In2008, when Mr. de Grood was in Grade 11, he became involved in illicit drug use. He ‘as using cocaine and ecstasy. Mr. de Grood’s friends became concerned and reported the drug use to his parents. Mr. de Grood attended AADAC treatment and counselling with a psychologist, Dr, David Hodgkins, for approximately one year. This seemed to resolve the drug tse problem. Mr. de Grood’s parents continued to monitos him for drug use and had access to his bank accounts. [8] tn April 2013, Mr. de Grood graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree (with 4istinction) from the University of Calgary. His major was Psychology and his minor was Law and Society. In late 2013, he was accepted to law school atthe University of Calgary and the University of Alberta He planned t attend the University of Calgary law school in September 2014, [9] In April 2014, Mr, de Grood was employed in the produce department atthe Safeway grocery store located at 99 Crowfoot Crescent NW in Calgary. He had been working at Safeway both parttime and full-time fr Several years. In April 2014, he was working approximately 32 hours per week as he was not attending school [10] Matthew de Grood had no reported history of mental illness prior to the offence dat, [11] Mr. de Grood had had no involvement with the police prior to the offence date and has no criminal record. bb) The night of Apri 14,2014 [12] On Monday, April 14,2014, Matthew de Grood was scheduled to work a shift at Safeway between 2:30 pm. and 11:00 p.m. He received a text that day from his childhood friend, Brendan McCabe, inviting him to a Bermuds Shorts Day party, an annual celebration of the last day of winter semester classes at the University of Calgary. The party was being held at 11 Butler Crescent in Calgary. Mr, MeCabe lived inthe house with four roommates: Sarah Kapiczovski, Page:3 ‘Teri Lewis, Michael “Joe” Regnault and Jordan Segura. The five roommates were ll inthe 205. and were either U of C students or starting tele career, 13] Mr. de Grood took the C-Train from Crowfoot station to Brentwood station. At 9 pm., ‘Mr. McCabe met Mr. de Grood ata Co-op gas station near Brentwood station as Mr. de Grood ‘aide could not remember how to get tothe house, He was stil wearing his work uniform, [14] Approximately 25 to 35 people attended the party over the course of the night. Mr. de Grood was notobserved to consume any alcohol or drugs over the course cf the night. There ‘were no confrenttions between anyone atthe party and Mr. de Grood, and he had no enemies at the party. The stmosphere of the party has been described as “Iaid back and relaxed” and ‘everyone was in a good mood. ©) The Stabbings [15]__ Just before 1:00 a.m. on April 15, 2014, Mr. MeCabe, Mr. Regnault, Ms. Kspiczowski ‘and Jayda Shreenan went to a nearby MeDonald’s restaurant to pick up food. Ms. Kapiczowski ‘drove them in ter car. At the time, Ryle Lindenaar and Elizabeth Stockma! were sitting in Mr. Lindanaar's car parked across the street from the house and Laura York went out tothe car to join them. [16] Lawrerce Hong, Joshua Hunter, Kaitlan Perras, Zackariah Rathwel, Jordan Segura, Teri Lewis and Mathew de Grood all remained inthe house. [17] Mr. Hong was lying down and sleeping on a couch in the livingroom. Mr. Hunter, Ms Perras and Mr, Segura were seated ona second couch facing the other. Mr, Rathwell and Mr. de Grood were inthe kitchen. Ms, Lewis was lying in her bed in her upstairs bedroom, trying to fll asleep. There was no one ese in the house. [18] Mr. de Grood picked up a chef's knife from a knife block on an open shelf in the kitchen. ‘The knife hada black handle witha single cutting edged, non-serrated bla that tapers into a sharp tip. The blade measured 21 centimeters in length by 4.6 centimeters in width at the widest ‘point and had a thickness of 3 millimeters, [19] _ Using she knife, Mr. de Grood stabbed Mr. Rathwell seven times, Mr. Hunter six times, “Mr. Segura onee, Ms, Peras four times and Me. Hong four times. [20] | The stabbings occurred quickly and unexpectedly. The five victims had litle, ifany, ‘opportunity toreact. Mr. Rathwell was stabbed in the kitchen. Mr. Hunterand Mr. Segura were stabbed on or near the couch on which they were siting and Ms. Peras was stabbed in the dining, oom as she tied to escape, Mr. Hong was asleep on the couch when he was stabbed. [21] After being stabbed, Mr. Hunter ran out the front door of the hous just asthe four individuals were returning from the MeDonald’ restaurant. As they walked from the driveway towards the house, they heard Ms. Perras screaming inside the house and saw Mr. Hunter running out the door and across the font lawn, Mr. de Grood was chasing Mr. Hunter and held the knife in his hand. [22] Mr. de Grood chased Mr, Hunter southbound down Butler Crescent, Mr. McCabe ran after Mr. de Grood and caught upto im about 150 meters from the house. Mr. de Grood was ‘holding the knife above his head with the blade pointed downward. Page: 4 [23] _ Mr. MeCabe grabbed Mr. de Grood’s hand that was holding the knife and told him to tive him the knife and to calm cown. Mr. de Grood lowered his hand and released the knife to ‘Mr. McCabe, which Mr. MeCate grabbed. The knife and Mr. de Grood’s gloved hands had ‘blood on thet [24] Mr. Hunter returned tothe house and collapsed on the front lawn. [25] Mr. de Grood told Mr. McCabe that it was “the night of the long knives” and took off running southbound towards Brentwood Boulevard. Mr. McCabe threw the knife onto the roadway and chased after Mr. d= Grood, caching up to him after about 200 meters. Mr. MeCabe srabbed Mr. de Grood and told im to calm down and come back tothe house. Mr. de Grood pulled away and Mr. McCabe pushed Mr. de Grood up against a parked vehicle [26] _ Mr. de Grood wiped his bloody hands on Mr. McCabe's hands. He said that they were “blood brothers" and wanted Mr. MeCabe to come with him. He then told Mr. MeCabe not to {get in his way, or he would be next. Mr. McCabe noticed that Mr. de Grood had his hand in his pocket, and he was worried that Mr. de Grood might sill have a box-cuter with him, which had ‘been noticed earlier in Mr. de Grood’s work uniform, [27] _ Mr. MeCabe let Mr. de Grood go, and Mr. de Grood ran eastbound on Brentwood Boulevard. Mr. MeCabe ran back tothe house. [28] Ms. Lewis, who had been in her upstairs bedroom at the time of he stabbings, had heard ‘male voice yelling words to the effect of “it's okay, it's cool ~ dude, calm down” and phoned 911. Ms. Lewis went downstas to find Mr. Rathwell, Mr. Segura, Ms Perras and Mr. Hong injured. Mr. McCabe, who had already chased Mr. de Grood down the street, told Ms. Lewis that the perpetrator was Mr. de Grood. Ms. Lewis provided Mr. de Grood's name to the 911 operator. [29] _ Ms. Lewis, Ms. Shreenen, Ms. Kapiczowski and Mr. MeCabe provided first aid to the victims inside the house, Mr. Regnault provided fist aid to Mr, Hunter on the front lawn, Ms, ‘Shreenan and Mr. Regnault also phoned 911. Mr. Kegnault provided a description of Mr. de Grood tothe 911 operator. [30] Between 1:21 a.m. and 1:23 am. on April 15,2014, police received three separate 911 calls about a stabbing incident atthe house and at 1:26 am, the first members of Calgary Police Service urived on scene, [31] At 1:34 am,, Emergency Medical Services confirmed that Mr. Rathwell, Mr. Segura and Mr. Hong were deceased, [32] At 139 am., Ms. Perras was transported from the scene o the Foothills Hospital where she was pronounced deceased et 3:00 a.m. [23] At L:44am,, Mr. Hunter was transported from the scene tothe Foothills Hospital where hhe was pronounced deceased at 2:17 am. @) The Arrest [34] _ Mr. de Grood’s description was dispatched to CPS members in the area. At approximately 1:30 a.m, he was seen running southeast bound on Brentwood Boulevard, approximately 500 meters from 11 Butler Crescent. He was running frantically and appeared to be trying to get away from something. Page: 5 [35] A police service dog from the K9 unit was deployed. After a confrontation with the police and the service dog, during which force was sed by the Officers and the service dog, Mr. de Grood was apprehended [36] At2:15 am., Mr. de Grood was formally arested for murder and attempted murder. UL TheLaw {37]__ The Crown has an onus o establish two things beyond a reasonable doubt in most Criminal prosecutions. Fist, dhe Crown must prove the actus res, that is, the wrongful act of the ‘accused which comprises the physical eomponent ofthe offence. Secondly, the Crown must ‘rove the mens rea, that is, tie mental element or intent required forthe commission ofthe criminal act. [38] In Rv McClenaghar, 2008 ABCA 7, 437 AR 247, leave denied [2008] SCCA No 226, ‘Watson JA (concurring inthe result) addressed the order of the steps to be followed by the Court in eases where mental disorder i raised asa defence, He cited R v Chaull, [1990] 3 SCR 1303, [1990] SCJ No 139 in whick Lamer Cl noted that a defence of mental disorder can be raised in a ‘number of different ways, depending on the mental condition ofthe accused, It could give rise 0 ‘a denial ofthe acrus reus orthe mens rea, or it could be in the nature ofan excuse or justification ‘based on the fact that the accused's mental condition rendered him incapable of knowing that the act was wrong. Lamer Cl reected the argument thatthe issue of mental disorder arises only after bth the actus reus and ment rea have been proved by the Crown. [9] _ Watson JA also cited Rv David, (2002), 169 CCC (34) 165, [2002] 05 No 3455 (CA) in ‘which the Ontario Court of Appeal eld that it is preferable and more logical to deal withthe ‘issue of eapacity before considering whether an aceused formed the requisite intent. [40] Relying on these authorities, Watson JA stated that the first logical step is to determine ‘Whether the actus reus has teen proven by the Crown beyond a reasonable doubt. The second stage is to consider if mental disorder has been proven. If that defence fails, the Court must then ccnsider whether the Crovs las established the mens rea on the offence charged. [41] Lind that this is the logical approach to take inthis ease. [42] _As stated, Mr. de Grod has acknowledged that he caused the deaths of he five victims. ‘Therefore, the actus reus ofthe offences has been established beyond a reasonable doubt. [43] Mr. de Grood pleads that he is not criminally responsible forthe deaths under s 16 of the Criminal Code ashe was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the offences. The onus is on Mr. de Grood to estabish this on a balance of probabilities. Therefore, the next step forthe ‘Court is to consider Mr. de Grood’s defence of mental disorder. 8) Criminal Responsibility [44] The traditional fundamental principle ofthe common law is that an individual's responsiblity for criminal behaviour results only from voluntary actions. This important principle is based on # recognition that it would be unfair ina democratic society to impose the consequences and stigma o criminal responsibility on an accused who did not voluntarily commit an act that consttues a criminal offence: Rv Bouchard-Lebrun, 2011 SCC 58 at para 45, [2011] 3 SCR S75. Page: 6 [45] A voluntary at must be the product of a person's free will. Accordingly, one cannot be found criminally responsible for an involuntary act. From a moral perspective, criminal responsibility is attributed where the individual has exercised a “true choice”, or has acted with “free will” [46] In R v Rule, 2001 SCC 24 at para 45, [2001] 1 SCR 687, the Supreme Court of Canada emphasised that: Like voluntariness, the requitement of a guilty mind is rooted in respect for individual autonomy and free will and acknowledges the importance of those values toa free and democratic society... Criminal liability also depends on the ‘capacity to choose - the ability to reason right from wrong, [47] The presumption that arises from this basis for attributing criminal responsibility is that ‘each individual can ordinarily distinguish right fom wrong. [48] _ Section 16 ofthe Criminal Code is @ recognition that there may be exceptional circumstances which justify departing from the general principle that an accused is deemed to be autonomous and rational. I provides 16 (1) No person i criminally responsible for an act committed or an om ‘made while suffering from a mental disorder that rendered the persoa incapable of appreciating the nature and quality ofthe actor omission or of knowing that it was wrong. (2) Every person i presumed not to suffer from a mental disorder so aso be exempt from criminal responsibilty by virtue of subsection (1), until the contrary is proved on the balance of probabilities. (3) The burden of proof that an accused was suffering from a mental disorder so 8s o be exempt from criminal responsibility ison the part that raises the issue. [49] Section 16 addresses the situation where a person suffering from a mental disorder renders that person incapable o appreciating the nature and quality of the act or of knowing that it was wrong. Thats, it appliesto a person who is not capable of morally voluntary conduet as his or her actions are not the product of fee will In such cases, s 16 exempts the accused from criminal lisilty. [50] A finding of a mental disorder leading to verdict af not criminally responsible does not ‘result in an acquittal ofthe accused, Rather it triggers an administrative process to determine ‘whether the accused poses a significant threat tothe safety of the public. Ifso, necessary actions are taken to control that threat and to provide the accused with appropriate care, A verdict of not ‘criminally responsible on account of mental disorder gives effect to society's interest in ensuring ‘hat morally innocent offenders re treated rather than punished, while protecting the public as fully as possible: Bouchard-Lebrun at paras 46 to 52, b) Section 16 Requirements [51] To successfilly establish a defence of mental disorder, the accused must establish on a balance of probabilities that: 1. he was suffering from a mental disorder inthe legal sense atthe time of the alleged events; and Page: 7 2, due to his mental condition, he was either incapable of appreciating the nature and ‘quality ofthe actor of knowing thatthe act was wrong. IV. Bvidence 8) Matthew de Grood’s Behaviour [52] The Agreed Statement of Facts outlines Mr. de Grood’s behaviour from the perspective ‘of a numberof people during the lst few months leading upto the time of the stabbings and then immediately following the stabbings. The actions and behaviours described have been considered by the medical experts in determining whether, in their respective opinions, Mr. de Grood was suffering froma mental disorder atthe time of the stabbings and whether he was incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of his actions or of knowing that they were ‘wrong. The following are only examples taken from all ofthe described behaviours and actions leading up to, and immedisely following, the stabbings and serve to illustrate the types of information and evidence considered and relied upon by the experts in forming thei respective opinions. b) Matthew de Grood's Behaviour at Home [53] Mr. de Grood's parents and sister noticed a significant personality change in Me. de Grood in the few weeks prior tothe offence date {54] Around the beginning of April 2014, he began postin things onthe social media site Facebook which were concerning to his parents and sister. They included heavy metal song lyrics, quotes from the Bible, conspiracy theories, and erratic, scattered thoughts. He was posting ‘up to 20 status updates a day which they had never seen before [5S]__ Mr. de Grood’s parents and sister also noticed that he had become disengaged from the family inthe few days before the offence date and spent a great deal of time alone in his bedroom. [56] _Mr. de Grood’s change in behaviour caused his parents to wonder if he was using drugs again. They asked him if he wished to again speak with Dr. Hodgkins, but be declined. His father considered swearing a mental health warrant and having Mr. de Grood seen by a psychiatrist, but be did not think that a psychiatrist would hold Mr. de Grood for any period of time as he appeared tobe lucid, ©) Matthew de Grood’s Behaviour at Work [57] _ Mr. de Grood worced part-time as a produce cletk at the Crowfoot Safeway. His supervisor forthe last year was Andrea Laderoute, the asistan manager, who had lso worked with Mr. de Grood in the sroduce area for about two yeas. She sad that he was a great, ‘employee who did everything asked of him and further described him as a really nice guy, caring and an all-around good person. [nth one or two months prior tthe night of April 14, 2014, she noticed that there was a arked change in behaviour and he began setng paranoid His Facebook posts became rans and refered to, among other things, diferent conspiracy theories However, there were no treats of harm and nothin to suggest that he would become violent. [58] _ Some of Mr. de Grod’s co-workers at Safeway also noticed a change in his behaviour in the weeks prior tothe offence date as he had begun acing strangely Fr example, two of his eo- ‘employees received a numberof text messages from him which they found to be unusual in that Page: 8 they were long and rambling, which was out of character for him. The employees believed that Mr. de Grood was inventing false scenarios in his mind and was paranoid [59] Mr. de Grood also believed his co-workers were gossiping about him and saying negative things about him behind his back, none of which was true. In text messages on March 25, 2014, ‘Mr. de Grood expressed paranoia about people saying that he was a drug user and alcoholic, that hhe abused women, that he had cheated on women, that he was mentally il that he was racist, and ‘that he was being bean or berated at home. He believed that his co-workers were conspiring ‘against him and excluding him from activities, [60] Mr. de Grood sent text messages denying the allegations he believed people were making bout him to co-workers who had never made any such allegations agains him and were confused by his messages 4) Matthew de Grood’s Facebook Page [61] On April 14, 2014, Mr, de Grood posted a status update that read: “Dread and the fugitive ‘mind - the world needs a hero”. “Dread and the Fugitive Mind” isa song bythe heavy metal bband Megadeth as isthe song “The World Needs a Hero”. [62] Friends who had viewed Mr. de Grood’s Facebook inthe weeks prior to the offence date have said they saw nonsensical posts by Mr. de Grood, often philosophical with thetoricel questions about strange topics, They included comments on things like censpiracy theories, religion, death metal album covers, reincamation, and a photo of Darth Vader dressed asa priest ©) Matthew de Grood’s Electronic Devices [63] Mr. de Grood’s intemet search queries on websites such as Google and YouTube between January 1, 2013 and the offence date included searches related to health, music, online ating, psychology, history and other interests. There were several searches relating to psychological theories, mental disorders and serial killers. These types of searches began while ‘Mr. de Grood was studying Psychology and continued after he graduated from the U of C in ‘April 2013. [64] Inthe two weeks leading upto the offence date, Mr. de Grood searched for and visited ‘many website relating to social and political philosophies, heavy metal musi, the world wars, Hitler and Nazism, religion andthe Bible, Barack Obama being the anticirst, reincarnation, and the Babylonian god Marduk, 1) Matthew de Grood’s behaviour during the evening of April 14, 2014 [65] The assistant manager at Safeway, Ms. Laderoute, saw Mr. de Grood about four times in the tore prior to 8:3) p.m. on April 14, 2014 His behaviour was somewaat unusual and she ‘noted that Mr. de Grood was posting “weird stuff" on Facebook while he was at work that day. [66] Between 5:5) p.m. and 6:38 psm., Mr, de Grood sent a number of text messages to his Mother, including the following: ‘+ In Frankenstein victor Frakenstein never kills anyone so he has nothing to fear ‘© And he doesnt care about $ + Look up my chinese astrology * Book of revelations Page: 9 ‘1am descended from pontious pilate and hitler? © One in the same ‘© Hor fuzz the movie isthe real story [67] Between 6:28 pn. and 6:36 pam, Mr. de Grood sent a numberof text messages to his Father. The text messages include the following: © Lam definitely your son ‘© Uranus and Leo and metal goat © Wall there ‘© Allliterature tells the same story look up the Rothschilds © Mluminati ‘+ Tupac reincamation 7 day theory ‘+ Mary doesn’t have to de this time operation mindcrime to american soldier © Justreadit, [68] When Mr, de Grood’s parents expressed concer about is mental well-being, he texted ‘both of them to “call Jon Ellard or Kibeom Lee”, who were professors inthe Department of Psychology at the University of Calgary. [69] At7:51 pm., Mr. de Grood purchased a three bulb peck of garlic at Safeway. [70] At 8:29 pm., Mr. de Grood purchased a bottle of garlic vitamins at Safeway. He also ‘withdrew $500 cash from an automated teller machine at Safeway. {71] _ Matthew de Grood let the Safeway store at 8:31 p.m. wearing his work uniform. He left his vehicle at Safeway. 8) The night of April 14 and early morning of April 15, 2014 [72] _ At9:00 pam,, Mr. MeCabe met Mr. de rood at a Co-op gas station near the Brentwood (C-train station because Mr. de Grood said he could not rememiber how to get to the House. He ‘as still wearing his work uniform, [73], _Atthe Co-op station, Mr. de Grood handed Mr. McCabe a clove of garlic and told Mr ‘MeCabe that he was going to need it for later. Mr. McCabe asked Mr. de Grood if he was ‘worried about vampires and Mr. de Grood responded that he was, because they are real. Mr, de Grood also gave Mr. MeCabe a long knife with a white handle in brown leather sheath, which Mr, McCabe assumed Mr. de Grood had been using in his job at Safeway. (74) During the six minute walk to the house, Mr. de Grood began discussing conspiracy ‘theories about things that were nonsensical to Mr. MeCabe, such as pattems in the movie The Matrix that exist in real life, Barack Obama being the anti-Christ, and hidden meanings in song lyrics. Mr. MeCabe observed that Mr. de Grood appeared agitated and was acting “weird” [75] After they arrived athe house, Mr. de Grood continued to talk to Mr. MoCabe about strange things like numbers, patterns and books, Page: 10 (76) At 10:00 pm, Ms, Laderoute noticed that Mr. de Grood was no longer in the store. She ‘checked his time card and discovered that he had signed out at approximately 8:30 p.m. without notifying anyone. He had never before lef a shift early. [77] At 10:12,pm, Ms, Laderoute texted Mr. de Grood and asked ihe was stil at Safeway. He texted back: ‘+ Trust that never hurt anyone # All will beknown, os [78] _Acapproximately 10:15 pm. Daniel Sieben, another long-time fiend of Mr de Grood, {greeted him while he was siting on & couch by himself. After a couple of minutes, Mr. de Grood began talking quickly about a number of strange topics including disconnected pop culture references. For example, he sai that Obama was the bad Darth Vader and he was a good Darth ‘Vader. He made references to theories he had about musicians and album covers, He made several comments about vampires. He said that at midnight, it would be “the end of days” because of the blood moon, o the lunar eclipse [79] Mr. Sieben then took Mr. de Grood for a walk around the neighbourhood, During their 30 to 45 minute walt, Mr. de Grood continued to talk quickly about several “crazy theories”. Mr. de rood ate a clove of garlic and offered garlic to Me. Sieben, saying it was to keep vampires away and keep Mr, Sieben protected atthe end ofthe world. Mr. de Grood’s dominating thought was thatthe world was ending at midnight. Mr. Sieben noted that Mr. de Grood had a box-cutter in his work uniform [80] After they returned to the house, Mr, de Grood put ona pair of blue medical latex gloves, ‘on his hands. He said they were to hide his fingerprints in case he had to kil somebody a the tend of the world. Mr. Sieben pointed cut that i itis the end ofthe world, there is no need to ide fingerprints. Mr. de Grood said that it made him more comfortable to leave them on and if people asked questions about the gloves, he would just put is hands in his pockets, id. He was later seen washing his hands while still wearing the gloves. [81] Neither Ne, Sieben nor Me. MeCabe had ever seen Mr, de Grood acting in thismanner. [82] Prior to midnight, Mr. de Grood, Mr. McCabe and others climbed onto the roof ofthe igarage to tlk. Mr. de Grood told Mr. McCabe that it was going to be the end of the world at ‘midnight. The moon was going to tur red and purification would occur. Mr. de Grood was not ‘normally a religious person but he began talking about purification and Jihad, [83] Mr, Sieben had told Mr. McCabe that Mr, de Grood was cacying the box cutter and ‘when Mr. MeCabe asked him for itso that he could put it in his bedroom, Mr. de Grocd responded "No, its for my protection”. Mr. de Grood also told Mr. MeCabe that his parents thought he was going insane and wanted him to seek help and get medication. he [84] Around 12:30 am,, Mr. de Grood joined a group of people gathered around afr pt in the backyard He placed his cell phone on an axe blade and dropped it in the fie. Mr. Lindenear pulled the phone out ofthe fire. Me. de Grood then grabbed it, smashed it with an axe and threw it at the fence Page: [85] _ Mr. Regnault iad known Mr. de Grood since elementary school. He offered Mr. de rood some tea which Mr. de Grood declined, saying that he did not want to get “water intoxicated”. He seid that he had drank alot of water at work as he had been getting ready forthe big apocalypse but the moon had not turned red at midnight so it was okay. He was also ‘observed to print his mme on a pop can, Mr. de Grood told Mr. Regnault that he was ‘embarrassed about geting ready for the apocalypse. He also told Mr. Regnaut that he would nat be going to work te following day as e did not get along with his boss. [86] As stated earlier, Mr de Grood was not observed to consume any alcohol or drugs over the course of the night. There were no confrontations between anyone atthe arty and Mr. de Grood, and he had noenemies atthe party [87] Between 12:32am. and 12:43 am, Mr. de Grood and his Mother exchanged text messages. His messages included the following: ‘© Read cirque da freak I'm not paranoid ‘© Just ead it and read about the moons google it trust me # Hove you ‘© Trust me it's wincaration this time Ido the right thing for once instead of thinking only of myself ‘+ tonight was alin wake and sermon on the mount + Alan wake is distorted through illuminati It’s okay mom i promise ‘© Lwill never die and no one wil die © Youcan’teone here you will die ‘© Just ead the book summaries + Trust me! Yow are possessed by the moon I will come to you okay [88] Mr. de Grood's parents found his text messages to be rambling and incoherent. They suspected that he was suicidal bh) Mr. de Grood’s arrest and post-arrest behaviour [89] When Matthew de Grood was apprehended, he was noted to have a blank stare on his ace and appeared to have no fear ofthe Police service dog which Constable Rob Tippet, the dog's handler, foundto be very unusual. At one point, Mr. de Grood ran towards one ofthe arresting officers an¢ attempted to punch him. When the police used force t» apprehend Mr. de Grood, which included the police service dog forcefully biting his right arm and Constable ‘Shawn MacGillivary administering several powerful knee strikes to his leg. Mr. de Grood showed no pain compliance. He continually screamed “I don't know what's happening”. His skin was very pale, [90] The police officers attempted to force Mr. de Grood to lie on the ground. The officers ‘each testified to the apparent superhuman strength shown by Mr. de Grood, who weighed around Page: 12 140 pounds atthe tm, in resisting the weight of three police officers and a 90 pound police dog all attempting to fore him down. Eventually, ittook the actions of Constable Blaine Kirby in palling the legs ou from under Mr. de Grood that caused him to go down flat on the ground. {91] A latex glove was found in Mr. de Grood’s right pocket and a mesh bag witha clove of tarlic was found in his sock. When asked, he advised thatthe garlic was to keep the vampires away. [92] After Emergency Medical Services atended and before being placed inthe ambulance, ‘Mr. de Grood said“! was just trying to kill them before they killed me”. [93] At2:15 an, while inthe ambulance, Mr. de Grood was arrested for murder and attempted murder. He was ead his Charter rights and caution and he indicated that he wanted to calla lawyer. In response tothe caution that he was not obliged to say anything, Mr. de Groed responded, “I’m the Son of God”. (94] During the ambulance ride to Rockyview Hospital, Mr. de Grood made a number of statements including th following: ‘© Idon’t want to say did it, if you know what L mean. It was the son, the illuminate, end the church was aping and killing children, ‘© 1'm waging war on a spiritual plane, it's between the sun and the moon, Anubi know. ‘+ Hitler was Pontius Pilate reincarnated. ‘+ Ihelieve killing people in selfdefence is just and fir ‘+ Obama isa false prophet and I am the sn, ‘+ Iwas borin an incubator and I'm an alien, ‘+ Lett tike Iwas going tobe poisoned by. ‘+ don’t believe Hitler killed anyone and was framed. * want to thank everyone for being nice to me and not shooting me when you could have and I wanted to die, The dog bic me and it was fair and just and I deserve to lose a limi. ‘tried to commit suicide inthe dumpster Iwas in, I eut my wrists, ‘© Thelieve Lam Jesus reincarnated, ‘+ Pmnot pasnoid, schizo or crazy. I believe we live in the new age. ‘+ Ithought Lcould predict the future by looking to the past. © The system has filed. ‘+ Treat my wists so I don't de pleas, ‘+ tried to cut my ankle, Achilles tendon. ‘© What I did was justified, 93) Page: 13 I saw nooses around Butler mansion so I thought that meant I was supposed to kill myself. {believe Satan isthe true god. My dad i a great guy. ‘My mom isa grest mom, { want to thank everyone being nice to me. (What I did may seem atrocious but I was killing medusas and werewolves, | thought I as allege to latex but I was wearing latex gloves so I guess not Ws lunareclipse. It was supposed to be the night of the long the Book o! Revelation. After his aval at Rockyview Hospital, Mr, de Grood was heard to make the following 5, prophecy fom Statements Pm sory for framing Charles Manson, {Vm somy for being a terible person. ve been sober for six years. I’m somy if Adolf Hitler killed his own family. | didn't enjoy kiling at all. {said sory, but the son of God was controlling me. [Pm related to al the serial killers in history ‘The taller guy who looked like a werewolf was going to kill. A knife block was there and thought be was going to ill me first so I did what {had vo do, {don’t fee! bad for doing what [had todo because it's justice and I was being contclled, Can I get yainkillers? This hurts. I guess I deserve it, Well, not really because was doing the work of. {took garlic to protect me from the vampires. eft workearly because I thought I was going to die. | tried to punch a cop in the face so he would shoot me. I stabbed people in the house, 1 created a flask symbol to wage war on Anubis. | wanted tobe Sober tonight so it wasn’t Ted Bundy thing blaming it on alcohol. ‘Dog bit me hard. 1 knew it was going to happen but I deserved it T punched the dog in the face and I'm sorry 1 did that ‘This guy at my work stole a bunch of knives and may be traveling around the world killing children, Page: 14 ‘+ Tout my wrists with a box cuter It was stigmata +L foresaw along time ago that | was going tobe bitten by a dog. = Tdoa’t do much consciously, I do most things i ively [96] _Atone poist, Me. de Grood stated “I had the latex gloves in my pockets. I equated ‘myself to Darth Vader. Knives were going missing at work, but it wasn't me. A guy there talks anti-Semitic, so it: ust made me suspicious. I don’t want you guys to do real investigation on that, just maybe search his house. My dad sis at home. He's a great guy and everyone disrespect the police and that's garbage.” Ata later point he stated, “I thought war was goirg to ‘wage and I had th knife because I thought | was going to have to cut up the bodies.” [97] _ Later, Mr, de Grood acknowledged stabbing the victims but stated that he “trie to doit mercifully”. He then said the following: So, as fr 5 I know, what happened was ~ will it still be a murder fT was defending myself? Because he was really bothering me. So what happened was, the big tll guy, we were talking about Buddhist philosophies, that we're all going to de, so jast have fun, have sex, et cetera. He obviously disagreed with me and ‘was towering over me, so I asked him to give me my space. We were walking towards the knife block, so I decided to shoot frst because I didn’t know what he was going to do, so I stabbed him. Then the people on the couch saw and they ‘obviously started freaking out, so [killed them from lft to right as quickly as 1 could. The git ran into the corner, so I went and stabbed her. I said, am sorry, | have to dothis, Then the guy from the kitchen wasn’t dead, so I had to hunt him down, butthen I just let i) Peyehiatric Examination of Mr, de Grood on April 15,2014 {98} Emergency room doctors certified Mr. de Grood under the Mental Health Act, SA 2010, © A-19.5 at 10:00a.m. on April 15, 2014, It was noted in the admission certificate that he was “psychotic” and had “no insight into illness”. He was referred tothe Psychiatry Unit. [99] Mr. de Grood was briefly assessed by psychiatrist Dr. Raymond Tang-Wai at 10:30am, Dr, Tang-Wai also certified Mr. de Grood under the Mental Health Act. He dbserved Mr. dz Grood tobe calm and cooperative without psychomotor agitation and displaying a euthymic affect and normal speech. Some thought disorder was noted, Mr. de Grood did not appear ‘have insight, and bis judgment was thought tobe impaired. [100} Mr. de Grood was seen again by Dr. Tang-Wai at 3:45 p.m. and he stated he woulé not ‘alk without his lawyer present, He was observed to become tearful, though he would not explain ‘this, He did not axpear to be responding to any internal stimuli [101] Mr, de Grood was transferred tothe Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre 07 the ‘evening of April 15, 2014, and admitted to the care of Dr. Reilly Smith. Over the next few hours, Mr. de Grood was observed to engage in disorganized behaviour such as walking around raked ‘hile making references to Adam and Eve. He made comments about the Egyptian Sun God, pentagram the end of the world, and a war. He made threats that he would harm or kill others ‘Who entered his rom, because it was a war and he needed to protect himself, He was observed to be having a coaversation with himself and making odd hand gestures that he explained were to keep hi safe. Page: 15 [102] Mr, de Grood has remained in custody either at SAFPC or at the Calgary Remand Centre since the Offence Dae. V. Analysis [103] The court must now determine whether Matthew de Grood is not criminally responsible for the deaths ofthe five vitims on the basis that he was suffering from a mental disorder that, rendered him incapable of appreciating or knowing that his actions were wrong. {108} The Court hesrd from three expert medical witnesses: Dr, Alberto Choy, a Forensic Psychiatrist at Alberta Hospital Edmonton; Dr. Lenka Zedkova, a Forensic Psychiatrist at Alberta Hospital Edmonton; and Dr. Andrew Haag, a Forensic Psycholopstat Alberta Hospital Edmonton. In reaching their respective opinions, each relied extensively onthe information and ‘evidence received from many sourees, including those referred to earlier, together with intensive clinical psychiatric and psychosocial assessments, As well, Mr. de Grood was interviewed on a ‘numer of occasions { will not review their evidence in detail ax cach has provided a report and the reports have beer: entered as exhibits in this tial | wil, however, highlight portions ofthe evidence given by each 44) The Mental State of Matthew de Grood [105] Section 2of the Criminal Code defines a mental disorder as “a disease ofthe mind”. The ‘concept ofa “disease ofthe mind” includes “any illnes, disorder or abnormal condition which impairs the human mind and its functioning”: Cooper v The Queen, [1980] 1 SCR 1149 at 1159, [1979] SCI No 139. [106] The concept af a disease ofthe mind isa legal concept with a medical dimension, The respective roles ofthe expert, the judge and the jury are summarized in R v Stone, {1999] 2 SCR 290, 1999] SCJ No 27 at para 197, cited in Bouchard-Lebrun at para 63, a8 follows: raken alone the question of what mental conditions are included inthe term isease of the mind” isa question of law. However, the trial judge must also determine whether the condition the accused claims to have suffered from satisfies the legal test for disease ofthe mind. This involves an assessment ofthe particular evidence inthe case rather than a general principle of law and is thus a {question of mixed law and fact... .The question of whether the accused actully suffered from a disease of the mind is a question of fatto be determined by the trio of fact. [107] In considering the mental state of Mr. de Grood and whether he suffered from a disease ‘of the mind at the time of the index offences, each of the three experts performed their analysis ‘and reached their conclusions independently of the findings and opinions ofthe others. Their opinions on this issue areas follows: Dr. Alberto Choy [108} Dr. Choy opined that Mr. de Grood suffered from a psychotic episode on and around the Offence Date, He states that the disorganization and delusions identified st the time ofthe offences, and Mr. de Grood’s response to treatment, were not atypical of a severe psychotic disorder. Its not clear to Dr. Choy, however, whether the under ying illness resulting inthe psychotic disorder is schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or schizoaffective disorder. Page: 16 [109}_ In specifically addressing the question of whether Mr. de Grood was suffering from a ‘mental disorder, Dr. Choy indicates that thee is ample evidence to suggest that Mr. De Grood. ‘as suffering from a mental disorder inthe week prior othe index offences and during the commission f the affences. Ry referring to Mr. de Grood’s own report and considering the ‘multiple collateral sources, it appears to Dr. Choy that Mr. de Grood experienced persecutory delusions before, during and after the index offences. The treatment Mr. de Grood received with ‘medication showed a typical response in the improvement of symptoms and his presentation of a flattened affect and some degree of perplexity also supported the presence of a psychotic illness. [110] Dr. Choy futher stated that Mr. de Grood’s multiple delusions were consistent both prior ‘to and after the offences and they had been expressed in various settings including his home, his ‘work and online. The seeming randomness of his delusional beliefs supported the notion that he ‘was genuinely psychotic because ofthe disorganization that can occur in this state. Finally, Dr. Choy states that there did net appear to be any other clear motive for the offences. [111] De. Choy thereby coacludes that atthe time ofthe index offences, Mr. de Grood was suffering from a mental disorder as that term is considered in 16 of the Criminal Code and defined by $2. Dr. Lenka Zedkova [112] Inher analysis, Dr, Zedkova states tha “it appear that fora period of atleast several ‘weeks prior tothe index offences, Mr. de Grood was losing touch with reality”. She refers to his ‘having experienced persecutory delusions (the Illuminati conspiring o kill him), grandiose

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