Re Udo Haan, 2025 CanLII 39394

Ontario Review Board

Re: Udo Haan

ORB File No: 8227

Hearing held on: Thursday, April 10, 2025

Place of Hearing: Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care

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

Before: Alternate Chairperson: Mr. R. Bigelow Members: Ms. S. Clapp, Dr. S. Swaminath, Dr. M. Green, Ms. C. Plyley

Parties Appearing: Accused: Udo Haan Counsel: Mr. S. Gehl

The person in charge of hospital: Counsel: Ms. J. Zamprogna

Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. K. Dalrymple

REASONS FOR DISPOSITION (Dated April 29, 2025)

Introduction

1On February 2, 2023, Udo Haan was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCR) on charges of first-degree murder, arson – reckless disregard for human life, and arson – damage property (x2) all contrary to the Criminal Code. He is currently subject to a disposition of the Ontario Review Board (the Board) dated April 25, 2024, ordering his detention at the Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care (the Hospital) with privileges up to and including residence in the community of Elgin or Middlesex Counties in accommodations approved by the person in charge.

2On Thursday April 10, 2025, the Board convened a hearing to review Mr. Haan’s disposition pursuant to section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. The issues to be determined at the hearing were whether Mr. Haan continued to constitute a significant threat to the safety of the public as defined in section 672.5401 of the Criminal Code and, if so, to determine the necessary and appropriate disposition that was also the least onerous and least restrictive taking into account the factors set out in section 672.54 of the Criminal Code.

Initial Positions of the Parties

3At the commencement of the hearing the parties were requested to provide their initial without prejudice positions with respect to the issues before the Board. Counsel for the Hospital indicated that it was the Hospital’s position that Mr. Haan continued to represent a significant threat to the public and that the necessary and appropriate disposition was a continuation of the current detention order with the only change being the removal of the current term requiring that he abstain absolutely from the non-medical use of alcohol or drugs or any other intoxicant.

4Counsel for the Attorney General agreed with the Hospital that Mr. Haan continued to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public and that the necessary and appropriate disposition was a detention order but opposed the removal of the abstention clause and requested that the provision prohibiting contact with a number of individuals be amended to specify that any communication by physical, electronic or other means was prohibited without the written revocable consent of those individuals. Counsel for the Attorney General also requested that further terms should be added to the disposition:

i. A prohibition from being within 100 m of residence, place of employment or education or any place that they may be of Spencer Haan and Melissa Haan;

ii. A prohibition from entering the cities of Kitchener or Waterloo Ontario unless accompanied by Hospital staff or delegate.

5Counsel for Mr. Haan advised that significant threat and the appropriateness of a detention order were not being contested and he supported the Hospital request for the removal of the abstention clause but advised that he would be requesting that the current condition 2(h) allowing for passes of up to five days two times per year be amended to provide for passes of up to seven days four times per year. He took no issue with the request by counsel for the Attorney General to amend the no contact provision but advised that there were a number of civil proceedings before the courts in the Kitchener Waterloo area which would require his client’s attendance at counsel’s office as well as courts. He submitted that it would be unreasonable to expect Hospital staff to be able to accompany his client when he was required to attend those cities to deal with the court-related matters. Accordingly, he was opposed to the clause recommended by the counsel for the Attorney General at least as initially worded.

Evidence at the hearing

6The evidence at the hearing consisted of the Hospital Report dated March 10, 2025, the victim impact statement of Spencer Haan dated April 1, 2025, and the oral evidence of Dr. Ajay Prakash, Mr. Haan’s treating psychiatrist.

Findings:

7For the Reasons that follow, the Board finds that Mr. Haan continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public and that the necessary and appropriate disposition is a detention order. The Board also finds the following:

• The term requiring abstention from alcohol and drugs continues to be necessary and appropriate;
• The amendment to the travel passes requested by Mr. Haan is appropriate;
• The amendment of the no contact provision as well as the boundary restriction with respect to Spencer and Melissa Haan are appropriate with an exemption of contact as may be required for the purpose of outstanding litigation;
• With respect to the request for a prohibition to enter the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, the appropriate condition is a prohibition from entering those cities unless on an itinerary approved of by the person in charge or their delegate; and
• An additional term requiring Mr. Haan to report any romantic involvements to the person in charge or delegate in appropriate.

Index Offences:

8The circumstances surrounding the index offences as summarized in last year’s Reasons for Disposition are as follows:

On August 22, 2018, at approximately 8:10 a.m. an explosion and subsequent house fire occurred in a residence in the City of Kitchener. While fire fighters were dealing with the blaze they observed the body of a female, later identified as Edresilda Haan, the wife of the accused, in the backyard of the residence. Neighbours located Mr. Haan in the rubble of the rear yard of the residence and removed him to a place of safety where he was treated by paramedics and then transported to hospital for treatment.

The accused and deceased had been together for approximately forty years and had lived in the residence for approximately twenty-five years. They had two adult children, had been experiencing marital issues, and were in the process of separating. Both were employed at Sun Life Financial in Waterloo, Ontario, where the deceased had worked for thirty-eight years.

The explosion at the residence damaged neighbouring properties. When neighbours observed the deceased, she was lying naked on her back on the ground. Her face was blue. Fire department personnel observed a ligature around her neck. Forensic examination was conducted by a pathologist on Edresilda Haan and the cause of her death was determined to be strangulation, with evidence of both manual and ligature strangulation observed. Examination of the trachea showed no smoke inhalation prior to death. The examining physician also noted a broken ankle and other injuries to her legs, which the physician believed occurred post-mortem due to lack of blood flow to the injuries. The pathologist concluded Edresilda Haan was deceased prior to the explosion.

The cause of the damage to the residence was found to be a gas explosion with an extensive fire. The source of the gas was a “drip line” on the furnace in the basement of the residence. The cap for the drip line had been removed to allow the residence to fill with gas. The investigator for the Ontario Fire Marshall’s office concluded the cap could only have been removed by intentional human intervention.

Both Mr. Haan’s children described him to investigators as becoming increasingly paranoid after November 2017. He constantly accused Edresilda of infidelity, claimed his cell phones were being hacked, and twice tried to suicide in May of 2018 by ingesting pills.

The Haan residence was equipped with home surveillance cameras, but police investigation revealed that on the morning of August 22, 2018, the security system was disarmed at 4:41 a.m.

Background Information Regarding the Accused:

9Mr. Haan is currently 65 years of age and was born in Germany but moved to Canada when he was six and has lived in Kitchener since his arrival in Canada. He completed grade 12 at the age of 19 and then attended Seneca College where he successfully completed a two-year information technology program with good grades.

10Mr. Haan was married to the victim of the index murder charge for 40 years and is the father of two children both now adults. He has been employed as a computer programmer and a project manager at a number of businesses for lengthy periods.

Substance Use History

11Mr. Haan has an extensive substance use history. He began consuming alcohol at the age of 16 and escalated to daily use drinking up to six beers per day on weekdays and up to 12 beers were day on weekends from his 40s up to the date of the index offences. He began using cannabis when he was 16 and consumed up to five or six “joints” per day.

Legal History:

12Mr. Haan has no prior criminal record.

Psychiatric History

13Mr. Haan had no history of engagement with mental health services before January 2018 although he reported feelings of depression and anxiety since he was a child, and self medicated his symptoms by using alcohol and cannabis from the age of 16. In January 2018 his family physician referred him to a mental health program for counselling related to “couple/relationship issues”. However, after an initial consultation he cancelled several appointments and did not pursue any further services until May 3 of 2018 when he requested testing for sexually transmitted diseases due to a belief that his wife was unfaithful to him. On May 7, 2018, he made a phone call to the mental health clinic and indicated that he needed an urgent call back to review a criminal matter. He then advised the clinic that the criminal matter related to his wife being part of a prostitution ring connected to organized crime and concerns that he was being monitored and followed by individuals connected to organized crime who met him harm.

14On May 15, 2018, Mr. Haan was brought to an emergency department by paramedics after overdosing on a significant amount of Tylenol. The paramedics reportedly advised that he had left a suicide note. Mr. Haan reported that he was feeling paranoid and that someone was watching him and tracking his movements. He was diagnosed with a “psychotic disorder not specified elsewhere, rule out delusional disorder (paranoid)” and reluctantly agreed to a trial of antipsychotic medications. Several days later Mr. Haan reported that his paranoia was “gone” and denied any thoughts of harming himself. He was discharged from hospital after several weeks with a diagnosis of “psychosis and other related disorder, likely worsened by marijuana use” and prescribed antipsychotic medications. However, he was not fully compliant with prescribed medications as he did not believe that he was ill and was doubtful that the medication would bring any benefit to him.

Current Diagnosis

15The Hospital Report lists Mr. Haan’s current diagnoses as:

• Unspecified Bipolar and related disorder
• Substance Use Disorder (cannabis and alcohol), in remission

Restriction of Liberty

16On April 16, 2024, Mr.’s Haan privilege levels were reduced from level VII (indirectly supervised community access) to Level 3 (access to the inside hospital area only) and were returned to level VII on May 13, 2024. The circumstances surrounding the restriction of liberty was summarized in the Board’s reasons for decision with respect to that restriction dated August 16, 2024, as follows:

18Mr. Haan, prior to his annual hearing, began to question the validity of his diagnosis and requested the gradual tapering off of his medication so that the diagnosis could be tested while he was unmedicated. As Mr. Haan was capable of consenting to treatment, his medications were completely discontinued on March 3, 2024.

19While medicated, Mr. Haan had been stable. He did not exhibit signs of paranoia and did not experience hallucinations. However, in the five weeks after the tapering off of his medications, the treatment team began to notice significant changes in Mr. Haan's behaviour. He began to be intrusive in his interaction with peers and became emotionally unstable at times. He became tearful when talking about his index offence and his losses. In early April his mood was elevated and he presented with more emotional lability. His speech became pressured. He showed signs of impatience and became intrusive and domineering with his peers.

20Mr. Haan's insight into his mental illness is not well-formed. At times, he reported that he enjoyed his mood and felt no need for treatment. He also said that he preferred to be treated with psychotherapy as opposed to medications. When informed that psychotherapy would not be sufficient to treat him, he became distracted, challenging and pressured. He wanted to be treated with a cannabis preparation (CBD) as he felt there would be fewer side effects than those that came with mood stabilizers. However, he did eventually agree to be treated with a low dose of mood stabilizer (lithium).

21At times Mr. Haan presented with symptoms of an elevated mood. He exhibited poor judgment, especially around the issue of the need for treatment. His request to be treated with cannabis was especially concerning to the treatment team.

Evidence of Dr. Prakash

17Dr. Prakash indicated that he had been Mr. Haan`s attending psychiatrist since December 2024 as part of the Hospital Outreach Team after his discharge from hospital to an independent apartment and had read and adopted the contents of the Hospital Report.

18Dr. Prakash noted that Mr. Haan`s diagnosis has evolved over time and will likely continue to evolve. His current medication for psychiatric related issues was lithium and Mr. Haan has requested two reductions in the dosage since his discharge into the community. His current dosages 750 mg. as of February 18, 2025. The treatment team continues to review medication particularly given the diagnostic uncertainty of unspecified bipolar and related disorder.

19Over the reporting year the treatment team noted changes to Mr. Haan`s mental state and the team was concerned that he might be entering a manic state however, under close supervision and monitoring, the was changes did not reach the level of a manic episode.

20Dr. Prakash noted that since discharge from hospital Mr. Haan has been highly active and involved in the community and has experienced a number of stressors without any indication of significant decompensation.

21Dr. Prakash noted that Mr. Haan had been abstinent from substance use since his arrest with respect to the index offences and completed some addiction programming. The treatment team was recommending the removal of the prohibition from consuming drugs and alcohol in order to test him while under the terms of a detention order. Mr. Haan wishes to be able to use alcohol socially. He noted that other NCR reports indicated that alcohol and cannabis did not play a role in the index offences.

22Dr. Prakash stated that the reason why his diagnosis with respect to bipolar disorder indicated “unspecified” was that his symptom profile did not match that of any of the various bipolar disorders set out in the DSM-5 and that the Hospital needs further time to clarify the diagnosis.

23Although Mr. Haan acknowledges that he was psychotic at the time of the index offences, he struggles to understand the relationship between the symptoms of his mental illness and the psychotic symptoms experienced at the time of the index offences or relating more recent symptoms to a possible return of psychotic symptoms. Dr. Prakash indicated as well that Mr. Haan’s insight into his need for treatment continues to need further development.

24Dr. Prakash indicated that the hospital has no current plans for further addictions programming, Mr. Haan has not expressed any desire for further programming and has indicated that he wants to choose whether or not he consumes alcohol or cannabis. Dr. Prakash indicated that prior to reviewing the victim impact statement he was not aware that there was a suggestion that Mr. Haan had reviewed his sons LinkedIn profile last fall.

25In response to questions from panel members Dr. Prakash indicated that the diagnosis did need to be clarified, and medications optimized. In response to a suggestion that it might be helpful to seek out an outside expert on mood disorders to assist with the diagnosis, Dr. Prakash indicated that he was open to any support he could get but that did not believe it was necessary and he was reluctant to make such a request without an acute issue given the limited resources available.

26In response to further questions from panel members Dr Prakash agreed that Mr. Haan was seeking long-term companionship and had engaged in activities such as speed dating, social events and holiday themed meet ups since his discharge. He also agreed that Mr. Haan’s delusions with respect to his wife was one of the significant factors driving the index offences, but that consumption of alcohol and cannabis worsened those delusions.

Analysis and Conclusion, Significant Threat:

27Although the issue of significant threat was not contested at the hearing, the Board nevertheless makes an independent finding that Mr. Haan does represent a significant threat to the safety public. Mr. Haan suffers from a major mental illness the full particulars of which are unclear at this time despite his having been in hospital for two years. The symptoms of that illness, exacerbated by alcohol and cannabis consumption, were the driving forces behind the index offences which were of the gravest nature. He continues to have limited insight into his illness, the importance of medication in treating his illness, the impact of substance use on his mental health and the potential for future violence.

28The most recent HCR 20v3 indicates dynamic risk factors present for the period of April 2024 to February 2025 as follows:

• Recent problems with insight: present and relevant – Mr. Haan’s insight is not fully developed in all spheres.
• Recent problems with symptoms of major mental disorder: present and relevant - Mr. Haan has had minor mood fluctuations i.e. elevated at times (April and August), but he attributed this to increased freedom and did not require seclusion or emergency mental health interventions. After the lithium reduction on February 18, 2025, some changes to his mental status were noted by late February/early March.
• Recent problems with instability: present and relevant – Mr. Haan had mood fluctuations related to his illness and there was irritability noted when his needs were not met or when challenged by staff (affective). There has been some evidence of impulsivity and acting abruptly i.e. taking his mother out of the nursing home, attending various clinics instead of waiting for his appointments at the hospital, the driving incident, and getting tattoos, piercings, and purchasing jewelry.
• Recent problems with treatment or supervision response: present and relevant –Mr. Haan has had minor issues with rule adherence i.e. when using the iPad, the nursing home incident and not following his itinerary. He has requested reductions of his medications and continues to request further reductions.
• Recent problems with violent ideation or intent: not present.

29Mr. Haan stopped taking medication in early March 2024 and did not recommence until mid April 2024. Since his discharge from hospital, he has twice requested reductions in medication the most recent taking place on February 18, 2025, and the treatment team is currently uncertain as to whether he may be experiencing breakthrough symptoms. Although Mr. Haan is currently in the community and there have been no issues, he has only been in the community for approximately six months and will likely be facing a number of significant stressors over the reporting year including the approaching conclusion of legal proceedings and the declining health of his mother which may have an impact on his mental health.

30The Supreme Court of Canada in the Winko decision discussed the nature of the threat to the public necessary to engage the provisions of part XX.1 of the Criminal Code and stated:

To engage these provisions of the Criminal Code, the threat posed must be more than speculative in nature; it must be sup-ported by evidence: D.H. v. British Columbia (Attorney General), [1994] B.C.J. No. 2011 (QL)(C.A.), at para 21. The threat must also be “significant”, both in the sense that there must be a real risk of physical or psychological harm occurring to individuals in the community and in the sense that this potential harm must be serious. A minuscule risk of a grave harm will not suffice. Similarly, a high risk of trivial harm will not meet the thresh-old. Finally, the conduct or activity creating the harm must be criminal in nature

31Taking into account the grave nature of the index offences, the ambiguity with respect to diagnosis, the lack of insight, and the continuing need to optimize medications the Board finds that the evidence here clearly supports a finding that the test as set out in section 672.5401 of the Criminal Code and the criteria set by the Supreme Court of Canada are met . The Board finds that absent the supervision of the Board there is a strong likelihood of Mr. Haan falling away from treatment and returning to substance use resulting in a significant increase in his risk to the public. The Board also notes the results of the HCR 20v3 which finds that Mr. Haan’s risk of violence if granted an absolute discharge would be high.

Analysis and Conclusion, Necessary and Appropriate Disposition:

32The Board finds that the evidence also amply supports the joint submission that the necessary and appropriate disposition is a continuation of the current detention order. Although currently adherent to recommended medications, Mr. Haan has a history of noncompliance with medication and as recently as March 2024 ceased all medications. Since his discharge from hospital, he has sought two reductions in medication and the treatment team continues to monitor him closely to determine what the impact of the most recent reduction may be.

33Mr. Haan diagnosis of unspecified bipolar disorder has a significant relapse rate even when adhering to medication. The Hospital clearly requires the ability to both approve accommodation and return Mr. Haan to hospital expeditiously should he develop symptoms of his illness which could develop into psychotic symptoms similar to those he experienced at the time of the index offences.

34As noted above the Hospital has recommended the removal of the prohibition from consuming alcohol and drugs which is also supported by counsel for Mr. Haan but opposed by counsel for the Attorney General. The Board has significant concerns with respect to this recommendation. One of the factors taking into account by the treatment team in making this recommendation is a suggestion that Mr. Haan had reduced his consumption of alcohol and cannabis prior to the index offences. Although at times Mr. Haan has asserted that this was the case, he has on numerous occasions also indicated the opposite.

35In his Independent Psycholegal Assessment/NCR Report dated February 21, 2022, Dr. Woodside reported that Mr. Haan told him:

When asked about his alcohol consumption in the 1-2 weeks prior to the index offenses, he stated, “probably about 6 beers per day”, noting this would be enough to get him drunk. When asked, he stated he remembered “a couple of joints a day.” He did not recall telling anyone else that he was only drinking 1-2 beers per day in that time period.

He acknowledged drinking more on weekends, including in the period leading up to the index offense, consuming 8-12 beers per day. However, he did not recall how much he drank the day prior to the index offenses. He stated he was sober at the time of the alleged offenses.

36Although Dr. Prakash indicated that the main driving force behind the index offences word delusions related to Mr. Haan’s major mental illness he also agreed that consumption of alcohol and/or cannabis would worsen those symptoms. Although Mr. Haan has been abstinent from substances since his arrest with respect to the index offences, he is diagnosed with a substance abuse disorder which has been ongoing for decades. He has only involved himself in limited programming with respect to substance use and he currently is not involved in any programming for it and his confidence that he would not relapse does not appear to have a strong basis.

37In his evidence Dr. Prakash indicated that one of the reasons for an elevated risk in theHCR20v3 was the recommendation for the removal of the abstain provision from the disposition which would indicate that the removal of that term does increased risk.

38In the Board’s view given all of those factors, it is premature to remove the abstain provision from the disposition.

39The Board is content with the expansion of travel passes from five days twice per year to seven days four times per year given the evidence of Mr. Haan’s community involvement success on previous passes.

40The Board has some concern about the lack of clarity in Mr. Haan’s diagnosis after two years in hospital and given that a change in his diagnosis could well have a significant impact on recommended treatment, and recommends that the Hospital consider obtaining an independent expert opinion on the diagnosis.

41The Board also is of the view that given the nature of the index offences involving grave intimate partner violence, Mr. Haan’s expressed wish to find a romantic partner, his involvement in speed dating and other “meet ups”, and his lack of insight into his illness the addition of a condition of reporting romantic involvements to the person in charge or their designate is necessary and appropriate.