Ontario Review Board
Re: Brent Samuel
ORB File No. 7944
Hearing Date: March 24, 2025
Hearing Location: St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Hamilton, West 5th Campus
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Mr. M. Segal
Members: Dr. B. Sheppard Dr. G. Stones Ms. M. McKinnon Mr. K. McKenna
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Brent Samuel Counsel Mr. A. Confente
The Person in charge of Hospital: Counsel: Ms. L. Barney
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. J. McKenzie
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated April 17, 2025)
Introduction
Mr. Samuel was found not criminally responsible (NCR) on September 13, 2021, for the criminal code offence of attempt murder.
He is currently subject to a discharge with conditions under a Disposition dated April 2, 2024, that includes terms that he resides at his parents’ home in Huntsville, Ontario, and that he reports to the person in charge of St. Joseph’s Healthcare, or his or her designate, not less than once per month.
A panel of the Ontario Review Board (the panel) convened this annual hearing on March 24, 2025, at St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Hamilton, West 5th Campus (St. Joseph’s), to review the current Disposition pursuant to section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada.
At the commencement of this hearing, the Hospital submitted that Mr. Samuel remained a significant threat to public safety, and that a continuation of the current Disposition was necessary and appropriate. They were also requesting that the care of Mr. Samuel be transferred to Waypoint Mental Health Centre, Outpatient Service (Waypoint), which is much closer to Huntsville than Hamilton. St. Joseph’s advised Waypoint of this request, and Waypoint, by letter dated March 20, 2025, advised that it was willing to accept Mr. Samuel into their outpatient service.
Counsel for the Attorney-General and for Mr. Samuel supported the Hospital’s submissions; including the transfer to Waypoint.
After considering the evidence, the panel concluded that Mr. Samuel continued to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public, and that a continuation of the current conditional discharge was necessary and appropriate. The panel also concluded that it was appropriate to transfer Mr. Samuel’s care to Waypoint to facilitate clinical oversight and aftercare given Waypoint’s proximity to Huntsville.
Index Offence
- The following is a synopsis of the facts related to the Index offence.
The victim [KD] resides with the accused Brent Samuel who is her cousin at 1020 Central Park Drive Unit #64 in the City of Brampton. Also residing at this address are the victim's mother [EO] and her sister [SC]. The family have resided at this address for approximately 7 years.
Alcohol was not a factor; however, drugs are suspected to have been a factor, with Brent utilizing unknown drugs prior to the incident.
Count #1 Attempted Murder, Section 239(1)(b) Criminal Code of Canada
On Tuesday, March 10th, 2020, at approximately 3:38 PM the victim [KD] and the accused Brent Samuel were present at their residence of 1020 Central Park Drive Unit 1164 in the City of Brampton.
An altercation occurred within the residence during which time the accused struck the victim in her head and her hand with a hammer, attempting to kill her. The victim was able to escape the residence and attended her neighbours’ residence who subsequently contacted the police.
At 3:53 PM the accused was located in his residence in an agitated state and was placed under arrest for aggravated assault, which was later amended to attempt murder.
The victim was transported to Sunnybrook Hospital for medical treatment. As a result of the assault, the victim sustained two depression skull fractures and one bone fracture in her left finger.
Hospital Report dated March 7, 2025
The Hospital Report dated March 7, 2025, was prepared for this hearing and contains a detailed review of Mr. Samuel’s personal and mental health history.
He is diagnosed with Schizophrenia, Cannabis and Cocaine Use Disorders, both in sustained remission.
Mr. Samuel resided with his parents and younger sister until 2011. He remained in Brampton, living with a great aunt, when his family moved to Huntsville. The index offence occurred in this Brampton home.
Mr. Samuel’s parents reported that their son’s behaviour began to deteriorate when he was in his early twenties. This coincided with marijuana use. He was told by his parents that he could not live in their house and use marihuana, which resulted in him staying in Brampton.
His parents indicated, that leading up to the index offence, Mr. Samuel’s behaviour became argumentative, and he expressed certain beliefs which caused them concern. He lost friends as a result of this behaviour, and his relationship with his sister became strained.
Following the index offence, Mr. Samuel was admitted to William Osler Health System under police custody. He advised hospital staff that “God and I will rule the world”, and that he was one of the top 100 candidates in the world to be the next Moses. He was described as having delusional thought patterns.
An Assessment Report dated August 13, 2020, was prepared for the court to determine criminal responsibility. In addition to the lengthy history of substance use, the report refers to Mr. Samuel experiencing various psychotic symptoms, including command and auditory hallucinations, ideas of reference, and delusional ideas where he believed the victim was practicing witchcraft and that he himself would die. He responded to voices that were telling him to “carry out a biblical injunction to kill the victim”.
With treatment, his insight improved considerably. He agreed to stop using cocaine, would consider stopping his cannabis use, and was agreeable to taking his medication. He was discharged on March 23, 2020, into custody, and then to the care of his parents.
Mr. Samuel attended St. Joseph’s emergency department on April 4, 2020, in the company of his mother. He disclosed a history of anxiety attacks when feeling overwhelmed. He was discharged with medication the following day.
Mr. Samuel has received psychiatric care in the community. In January 2018, he attended the Assessment Clinic at CAMH with a referral from his family physician. He was noted to be smoking cannabis and ingesting cocaine at the time. He presented with delusional thoughts, mania, and psychosis.
Beginning in June 2020, Mr. Samuel had been followed in the community by the Cleghorn Clinic at St. Joseph’s. Through this clinic he accessed his medication and received psychiatric follow-up. He was discharged from Cleghorn in April 2022, when the Forensic Outpatient Program took over his supervision.
Mr. Samuel has resided in Huntsville with his parents since his discharge from custody. He has generally remained stable, has been compliant with his medication, and attends his appointments with the forensic outpatient team. His medication is a long-acting injectable administered by his family physician in Huntsville. Mr. Samuel has not displayed overt signs of psychosis or any delusional thought process, and has remained abstinent from substances.
The Hospital Report indicates that he does continue to experience the negative effects of schizophrenia, such as, avolition, blunted effect, and alogia.
Mr. Samuel’s condition has remained stable this past year. He checks in with his case manager every two weeks virtually, and attends St. Joseph’s every two to three months for an in-person visit. There has been no suggestion of delusions or disorganized thought. His answers to questions are often limited, and require further probing and encouragement to obtain information. His mother confirmed that there have been no concerns with symptoms of psychosis this past year.
Mr. Samuel had previously expressed an interest in living independently, in either Brampton or Mississauga, but now states that he will continue to live with his parents in Huntsville.
There is no indication that Mr. Samuel consumed non-prescribed illicit substances, and he has remained compliant with his medication regimen.
Mr. Samuel does not have a psychiatrist in Huntsville, but his family physician is aware of Mr. Samuel’s psychiatric history, and advised that he could refer Mr. Samuel to a psychiatrist if needed. Mr. Samuel has also recently connected with the local CMHA who have mental health workers on staff. He is currently on their wait-list.
In January 2024, Mr. Samuel started volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, and in September 2024, obtained part-time employment at a Walmart store. He plans to continue his work at both these establishments.
The Hospital Report indicates that many of the risk factors are being well managed. It refers to insight into his illness, meaningful participation in school or work, managing stress, and maintaining supportive relationships, as areas that require continuing monitoring. In the opinion of the Hospital, to maintain stability, treatment adherence and monitoring for substance use, Mr. Samuel must be supported with a conditional discharge.
The Hospital is supporting a request from Mr. Samuel to transfer his care to Waypoint Mental Health Centre. Waypoint is closer to Huntsville, and Mr. Samuel will have access to a psychiatrist through Waypoint.
Dr. Shariati Testimony
Dr. Shariati has been treating Mr. Samuel since 2022. He highlighted the salient information in the Hospital Report, and described this past year for Mr. Samuel as very good. Dr. Shariati referred to Mr. Samuel’s condition as remaining stable with the long-acting-injectable antipsychotic medication. Dr. Shariati has not observed or been advised of any aggressive or violent behaviour.
Dr. Shariati commented on Mr. Samuel’s volunteer work and his employment at Walmart as being very positive for him. He also indicated his support for the transfer of Mr. Samuel’s care to Waypoint to ease the reporting and oversight, and to provide access to a psychiatrist.
In answer to questions from counsel for Mr. Samuel, Dr. Shariati advised that Mr. Samuel’s family physician, Dr. Rae, administers the depot medication. Dr. Shariati does not believe that Waypoint would admit Mr. Samuel to the hospital at this time. Dr. Shariati also indicted that Mr. Samuel appears motivated to participate in substance use counselling.
Submissions
- Counsel each agreed that a continuation of the current conditional discharge was necessary and appropriate with a transfer to the Waypoint Outpatient Service.
Analysis
The panel accepts the submissions of counsel. Mr. Samuel has remained stable for the past few years while under the supervision and monitoring of the forensic outpatient team. He is engaged with volunteer work and part-time employment. He is adherent to his medication, and attends all his scheduled appointments with the outpatient team and the hospital. There has been no evidence of aggressive or violent behaviour.
The Hospital Report does, however, refer to risk factors that require continued supervision and monitoring. Specifically, it refers to insight into his illness, and his ability to participate meaningfully in vocational or educational pursuits. He has also exhibited a limited ability to manage stress, and to maintain supportive relationships with family and peers, which could result in a deterioration of his mental stability.
The panel also accepts that a transfer to Waypoint is appropriate. It appears that Mr. Samuel intends to live in Huntsville for the foreseeable future, so there is no need for him to make the commute to Hamilton. It is also beneficial that Mr. Samuel will have access to a psychiatrist and the Waypoint forensic team. Waypoint has requested that the same terms, with the appropriate modifications, be imposed, including the term that Mr. Samuel report monthly, which is reasonable in the circumstances.
In coming to this conclusion, the panel has applied the principles provided in s. 672.5401 of the Criminal Code.
DATED this 17th day of April 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Region of Toronto.
Kevin McKenna
Legal Member
_________________________
Office of the Registrar
Ontario Review Board