Re Fiyori Teklom, 2025 CanLII 111835

Ontario Review Board

Re: Fiyori Teklom

ORB File No: 7889

Hearing held on: Tuesday, September 23, 2025

Place of hearing: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health 1001 Queen Street West, Toronto

Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code

Before:

Alternate Chairperson: Mr. M.D. Segal Members: Dr. B. Sheppard Dr. G. Eayrs Ms. M. Labrosse Mr. W. Apted

Parties Appearing:

Accused: Fiyori Teklom Counsel: Mr. A. Brown

The person in charge of hospital: Representative: Dr. P. Darby

Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Mr. C. Coughlan

REASONS FOR DISPOSITION

(Dated October 28, 2025)

Introduction

1. Fiyori Teklom, age 42, was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder on charges of assault with a weapon, aggravated assault (x2) and attempted murder (x2), contrary to the Criminal Code, on May 7, 2021.

2. Ms. Teklom, who was on a Detention Order with privileges up to and including living in the community in accommodation approved by the person in charge, came before the Ontario Review Board (the “Board”) at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (the “hospital”), for her annual hearing on September 23, 2025. Ms. Teklom, who was represented by counsel, made use of simultaneous translation in the Tigrinya language which was made available virtually. Exhibit 1 was the Hospital Report dated September 10, 2025.

3. In preliminary positions, the hospital advanced that significant threat continued to be present and that a conditional discharge would be sufficient to manage the risk. Crown counsel agreed. Patient’s counsel indicated that his client did not oppose the hospital's position.

Diagnosis

4. Schizophrenia

Index Offences

5. The index offences are taken from last year’s Reasons for Disposition, as follows:

“The following History of the Predicate Offence is excerpted from the NCR Assessment Report authored by Dr. Paul Benassi dated on December 10, 2020:

A. Assault with Weapon x1 (May 22, 2020)

On May 22, 2020, Ms. Teklom accused her husband of plans to leave her and the children and in a heightened emotional state threw a mug towards him. According to the collateral information, she had held various paranoid beliefs at the time towards her husband and brothers, e.g. they planned to abandon her and take all their money. Due to the husband’s mounting concerns about her mental state, he decided to bring her to the emergency department for assessment for the first time. During the clinical assessment, she expressed feeling "stressed" by her brothers, not eating for days, and having suicidal thoughts without any plans. Later that same day, she urgently called emergency services expressing paranoid beliefs that her husband planned to leave her with the children and take all their assets. In the preceding days, Ms. Teklom was again in contact with police endorsing paranoid fears about her husband hating her and the children, and concerns about him possessing a knife.

B. Aggravated Assault x2, Attempted Murder x2 (July 11, 2020)

In June 2020, Ms. Teklom continued to display worsening mood and psychotic symptoms. She made further distress calls to police endorsing paranoid fears about her husband and brothers. She feared her family may harm or abandon her and the children, including selling the children off. She informed her family that there were unknown assailants planning to kill her children and she became suspicious of strangers in public. These paranoid delusions became more fixed and intense during this time. As a result of her mental decompensation, she was involuntarily psychiatrically admitted to hospital from June 13 to 19, 2020 and started on treatment. Following her hospitalization, Ms. Teklom continued to experience markedly disturbed mood and delusional thinking despite treatment. As a result, she increasingly felt overwhelmed and contemplated killing herself and her children as her only option to avoid an envisioned extreme and dire situation.

On July 11, 2020, Ms. Teklom engaged in violent actions towards her children while unsupervised in the family residence. Based on all accounts, her delusional paranoia was heightened after her husband left her alone in the residence. His departure served to confirm her delusional beliefs of his plans to abandon her and sell their children. Ms. Teklom’s recollection of specific events at the material time was limited during our assessment. However, based on the statements made to her husband and police immediately following the incident, she had intended to kill her children in a distorted attempt to protect them from being harmed and/or sold away. She called police and her husband after having stabbed her children requesting them to attend the residence. She also reported having considered committing suicide but had not acted on this by the time her husband and brother attended the scene. When interviewed by police that day, she asked their assistance in committing suicide. Based on the observations of multiple witness at the material time, Ms. Teklom presented as confused and disconnected from reality and displayed odd affect.

INJURIES

Ms. Teklom’s son, Petros Haile, sustained a laceration to his neck and one stab wound to the left side of his chest which punctured his lung. He was in stable condition but had to undergo emergency surgery.

Ms. Teklom’s daughter, Roda Haile, sustained a large laceration to the abdomen which caused her intestines to eviscerate from her body and a smaller laceration to her chest. She had emergency surgery to seal her abdomen and was in stable condition.”

Background

6. Ms. Teklom was discharged on July 3, 2024, from the hospital to TRHP-1 residence on Weston Road where she shares a room. While this is transitional housing, Ms. Teklom can continue to stay there for the foreseeable future. At her housing there is 24-hour staff who assist with medication administration and other supports. Ms. Teklom was born in Eritrea. At the time of the index offences, she was residing with her husband and their two children, then ages 5 and 1, in an apartment. Ms. Teklom is a permanent Canadian resident. She came to Canada in 2018 from Sudan. She did not work outside the home and was supported by her husband. She comes from a sib line of 12. Five of her male siblings live in Canada.

7. There was depressive symptomatology following childbirth. Psychiatric consultations followed. Ms. Teklom has no criminal record.

8. Ms. Teklom received documents from her lawyer in July 2023 containing a copy of a court order dated June 29, 2023, that she was to have no contact with her children and that there would be no review of the Order for at least two years.

9. There is no history of substance use or abuse. Ms. Teklom’s insight is very poor. Ms. Teklom is on an oral antipsychotic – olanzapine.

10. The Hospital Report contains the following passage:

“Ms. Teklom suffers from a major mental illness consisting of symptoms of psychosis, which alters her perception of reality. Ms. Teklom is an individual who has committed one of the most serious types of offences while acutely mentally ill. Our principal risk management intervention continues to be pharmacological treatment. If non-compliant with medication, she will likely display symptoms of her illness, including paranoid delusions, perceptual disturbances, disorganized and aggressive behaviour, in addition to significant levels of distress and anxiety leading to suicidal ideation. She has demonstrated some insight into her need to follow the advice of her clinical care team and has plans to continue her medication as long as it is recommended by her physicians.

Ms. Teklom has continued to make meaningful gains over the last reporting period, particularly her discharge TRHP-1 transitional housing services. Her symptoms of psychosis remain in remission. However, she continues to demonstrate somewhat limited insight into the connection between her illness and her index offences. She faces ongoing stressors in her hope to be able to regain access to her children.

Given Ms. Teklom's stability and her positive relationship with the clinical team, the team believes that her risk can be appropriately managed in the on a conditional discharge with her residence specified, 180 Downing Avenue. Should a severe decompensation occur again, the team believes that the provisions of the mental health act would be adequate to manage the risk. The team also believes that Ms. Teklom would likely agree to a voluntary admission where she is so advised.”

Evidence at Hearing

11. Dr. P. Darby, the patient’s outpatient psychiatrist, testified. Dr. Darby has known Ms. Teklom since July 2024. Dr. Darby informed the Board that this has been a good year. Ms. Teklom is compliant with her medications. There were no incidents of concern. There is no evidence of psychotic symptoms. Ms. Teklom's focus is on being able to see her children. She brings that up at every meeting. She does not understand that access and custody are not the responsibility of the hospital or the Board. The hospital is in the process of writing a letter for her counsel that may be used in family court proceedings.

12. In Dr. Darby’s view, the issue of non-access to the children is a source of continued distress and stress for the patient.

13. Significant threat continues to be present for the reasons documented in the Hospital Report. Background on the threat is informed by the very serious index offences and a significant decompensation in 2024 while compliant with her medications. Ms. Teklom’s mental state must be carefully monitored to ensure that there are no further decompensations. The family court proceedings and separation from her children is a significant stressor.

14. Dr. Darby noted that Ms. Teklom has a very good relationship with the outpatient team and is always open to direction. If a decompensation occurs, Dr. Darby is confident Ms. Teklom would voluntarily return to hospital. If the decompensation was severe, the provisions of the Mental Health Act could be utilized. The hospital needs to approve housing. A conditional discharge is adequate to manage the risk.

15. Ms. Teklom requires considerable assistance in activities of daily living. She is not at all ready for independent living.

16. A neuropsychological test was conducted in 2024. It revealed that there were significant cognitive issues. What is not clear is the extent to which psychosis had an impact on the test results. Testing will have to be revisited.

Analysis

17. Ms. Teklom continues to meet the significant threat threshold. The index offences were very serious. In early 2024, there was a significant decompensation while fully compliant with medications. Ms. Teklom continues to be distressed by the separation from her children and will experience significant stress as she attempts to regain access to her children through the Family Court.

18. At the same time, the expert evidence was that the appreciable risk can be managed on a conditional discharge. This is so because of the excellent relationship the patient has the forensic team, amenability to direction which would include returning to hospital if the hospital suggested it. The hospital also wishes to specify the residence. Reporting at least once a week continues to be recommended by the hospital.

19. The Board was presented in essence with a joint submission. The Board is of the view that the joint position makes sense. We wish Ms. Teklom well in the upcoming year.

DATED this 28th day of October, 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Region of Toronto.

Mr. M.D. Segal Alternate Chairperson

Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board