Re Steven Skrela, 2025 CanLII 52813

Ontario Review Board

Re: Steven Skrela

ORB File No: 8507

Hearing held on: Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Place of hearing: Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences 700 Gordon Street, Whitby

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

Before:

Alternate Chairperson: Mr. G. Beasley Members: Dr. B. Sheppard (via Zoom) Dr. W. Loza Ms. C. Murray Mr. A. Bouvier

Parties Appearing:

Accused: Steven Skrela Counsel: Ms. J. Boissonneault

The person in charge of hospital: Representative: Dr. M. Pearce

Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. N. MacDonald

REASONS FOR DISPOSITION

(Dated June 4, 2025)

Introduction

1. On February 29, 2024, the accused Steven Skrela, was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder on a charge of attempted murder, contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada.

2. By reason of a Disposition of the Ontario Review Board (“ORB”) dated April 16, 2024, Mr. Skrela was ordered to be detained at the Forensic Program of the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (“Ontario Shores”). Mr. Skrela’s Disposition included privileges up to 12-hour passes within a 150 kilometer radius of Ontario Shores, indirectly supervised.

3. On April 29, 2025, the ORB convened a hearing at Ontario Shores for the purposes of the annual review of Mr. Skrela’s Disposition pursuant to s. 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Skrela was in attendance at the hearing and represented by counsel, Ms. Boissonneault. Counsel for the Attorney General of Ontario was Ms. MacDonald, and the representative of the hospital was Dr. Pearce.

Index Offence

4. The circumstances of the index offence as taken from the Hospital Report are as follows:

“…Steven Skrela was charged with attempting to murder his mother, Elena Skrela, contrary to section 239 (1) of the Criminal Code of Canada. The parties advised that, pursuant to section 16. of the Criminal Code, they intended to address Mr. Skrela's criminal responsibility. The parties therefore agreed to proceed by way of a bifurcated procedure whereby I would be asked to make a finding that the actus reus of the offence had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt after which Mr. Brown would call evidence that demonstrated that Mr. Skrela acted while suffering from a mental disorder that rendered him incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of his actions or knowing that his actions were wrong.

Steven Skrela resided with his parents in Mississauga. At the time of the offence, he was unemployed and financially dependent on his parents. He occupied the basement of the family home. Mr. Skrela had no criminal record or outstanding charges.

For several years preceding the events of September 12, 2023, Mr. Skrela had been experiencing mental disturbance. In his early twenties, he complained of intrusive thoughts, suffering from brain fog and experiencing difficulties with his memory. He became paranoid and reclusive. He had, however, never been diagnosed with any psychiatric illness.

On Saturday September 9 and 10, 2023 Mr. Skrela was uncharacteristically interactive with his parents. He hugged them and told them he loved them. His parents interpreted his uncharacteristic conduct as a sign that he was contemplating suicide and was saying his goodbyes. They therefore called the police.

The police attended with paramedics who advised that they could do nothing, presumably because Mr. Skrela expressed no intention to harm himself or others. The paramedic, nevertheless, suggested that they monitor Mr. Skrela. To that end, Zef and Elena Skrela decided to take turns sleeping in the basement so that they could monitor Mr. Skrela.

On September 12, 2023, Elena Skrela slept in the basement. At approximately 12:30 a.m., Zef Skrela was watching television in the living room when he saw Steven Skrela enter the kitchen. Zef Skrela said hello to his son. However, Steven Skrela did not respond. Unbeknown to Zef Skrela, Steven Skrela had obtained an 8-inch-long knife and entered the basement where Elena Skrela was sleeping on a couch. Moments after retrieving the knife, Steven Skrela attacked his mother, as she slept.

In response to his wife's screams, Zef Skrela ran to the basement, where he saw his son attacking Elena Skrela with a knife while Elena Skrela struggled to fend off the attack. He grabbed hold of his son. From a standing position, he wrapped one arm around Steven Skrela's neck and used his other arm to grab hold of the arm in which Steven Skrela held the knife. Zef Skrela was eventually able to disarm his son by biting his knife-wielding hand then immediately called 911 for assistance.

As a result of the attack, Elena Skrela suffered life-threatening injuries. She suffered from a stab wound to the mid chest and lacerations to her hands. The chest wound resulted in damage to her pulmonary vein, her pulmonary artery, her pericardium, and her right lung. She lost a great deal of blood, requiring the medical team that treated her to infuse her with a volume of blood that exceeded that which would have been ordinarily contained in her body. She was immediately taken into surgery to repair the damage caused. Though she survived the surgery, she was left with an acute kidney injury which developed from a loss of blood. Ms. Skrela was 62 years old at the time of the attack.

At the conclusion of the surgery, Elena Skrela was taken to the intensive care unit of the hospital, where she remained for quite some time. She was discharged from the hospital on November 12, 2023. I'm told that she continues to require dialysis treatment three times a week, as a result of the damage to her kidneys, and will require that treatment for the foreseeable future...”

Current Diagnoses

5. The current diagnoses as taken from the Hospital Report are as follows:

Schizophrenia

Stimulant Use Disorder (MDMA), in remission

Criminal Record

6. Mr. Skrela had no criminal record prior to the index offence.

Personal History and Background

7. Mr. Skrela’s background and personal history are set out in the Hospital Report which was filed as an exhibit. For that reason there will be no extensive reference to those details in these Reasons. Mr. Skrela was born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario. He grew up living with his parents, younger sister, and paternal grandmother. His parents described their marriage as healthy with no reports of significant conflict. Both worked during Mr. Skrela’s childhood. Mr. Skrela and his sister were cared for by their paternal grandmother, with whom Mr. Skrela was particularly close. Mr. Skrela’s sister described their relationship as “not particularly close” but that they “co-existed.” Mr. Skrela was well liked at school and his friends were all “good kids” who displayed prosocial behaviours. Mr. Skrela graduated from high school without difficulty and attended Toronto Metropolitan University to study business administration. After a year at Wilfrid Laurier University, Mr. Skrela returned to Toronto Metropolitan University where he completed his undergraduate education in five years. Following university, he obtained employment as a bank teller but quit that job after three to four months. He has not been employed since that time. Mr. Skrela has never been married or co-habited with a partner and has no children. At the time of the index offence he was living at home with his parents.

8. Mr. Skrela indicated he began using cannabis at age 16 or 17 but consumed it very infrequently. His last use was a number of months before the index offence. In the one or two months leading up to the index offence, he began using MDMA approximately once or twice per week. He had been experiencing a lack of energy and repetitive thoughts that were exhausting him and that these symptoms improved with the use of MDMA, but the improvement would only last a day or two. He last used it three days before the index offence. He began using alcohol at the age of 17 and consumed it until quitting at the age of 22 due to difficulties with hangovers. Mr. Skrela denied ever having received treatment from a psychiatrist, therapist, or other mental health professional. He stated he had never been given a psychiatric diagnosis until after the commission of the index offence. Changes in his mental health began near the end of university. He described “brain fog,” trouble concentrating and “mental non-clarity.” He said he had constant intrusive thoughts. He became increasingly withdrawn and engaged less with his family and friends. He began to display paranoia and was continually checking underneath and behind the couch as well as under the couch cushions every time he went to the basement where he spent a majority of his time. Mr. Skrela’s sister described him as becoming “almost non-human and a robot.” He presented as emotionless and as an example she said that he was “unfazed” when his grandmother, whom he had been particularly close to, died in January of 2023.

Position of the Parties

9. At the outside of the hearing, Dr. Pearce stated that the recommendation of the treatment team was that Mr. Skrela be transferred to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (“CAMH”) in order to be closer to his parent’s residence in Mississauga. Dr. Pearce also proposed a number of extensions to the privileges available to Mr. Skrela including residing in the community in accommodation approved by the person in charge. Ms. MacDonald supported the recommendation of the treatment team as did Ms. Boissonneault, on Mr. Skrela’s behalf. Ms. Boissonneault conceded that there would be no challenge to a finding that Mr. Skrela continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public.

Evidence

10. The evidence on behalf of the hospital was presented by Dr. Pearce. He is Mr. Skrela’s attending psychiatrist and the author of the Hospital Report. Dr. Pearce stated that there had been no issues with the Mr. Skrela during the past reporting year. He has been fully compliant with his antipsychotic medication and there have been no incidents of a return of psychosis. Dr. Pearce referred to pages 18 and 19 of the Hospital Report which listed in detail multiple programs which Mr. Skrela had completed during the past reporting year at Ontario Shores. He had participated fully in every program that he had attended and was focused and engaged in all discussions. Mr. Skrela had made full use of the available passes. He was granted indirectly supervised hospital and grounds privileges which he used a total of 446 times. He had also made use of accompanied community access including five occasions accompanied by his father, who was an approved person. The privileges were exercised without incident.

11. Dr. Pearce stated that the plan for the upcoming year is to work with CAMH to facilitate Mr. Skrela’s transfer to their authority. Given that the waiting time for a transfer to a bed at CAMH is extensive, Dr. Pearce said that the treatment team plan to work with CAMH’s Forensic Outpatient Team to identify housing in the community which would be suitable for Mr. Skrela. The team then plan to arrange passes for Mr. Skrela to attend that housing. There have been preliminary discussions with CAMH to arrange this unique lateral out-patient transfer which is supported by the CAMH team. Dr. Pearce said that there is still some medical testing to be done for Mr. Skrela as he continues to suffer from chronic fatigue. Dr. Pearce highlighted the family support which Mr. Skrela receives as demonstrated by the attendance of his parents at the hearing. Overall, Dr. Pearce summarized by saying that Mr. Skrela had had an excellent year.

12. Ms. MacDonald did not have any questions for Dr. Pearce.

13. In response to questions from Ms. Boissonneault, Dr. Pearce agreed that Mr. Skrela tolerates his antipsychotic medication very well. He agreed that Mr. Skrela’s illness could be described as being in remission. There have been no incidents of substance use during the past reporting year. Dr. Pearce further agreed with Ms. Boissonneault’s characterization of Mr. Skrela as demonstrating improved insight into his illness. There have been no incidents of concern, and he has used his privileges to the maximum allowable limit. Mr. Skrela has successfully traveled to visit with his parents indirectly supervised. Again Dr. Pearce agreed that Mr. Skrela’s parents provide extensive support to him and have insight into his illness.

14. In response to questions from the panel, Dr. Pearce stated that it is Mr. Skrela’s preference to remain at Ontario Shores until such time as he can be discharged to the community. Dr. Pearce acknowledged that the treatment team would consider a discharge to the community in the Ontario Shores’ catchment area if they were unable to arrange a suitable accommodation for Mr. Skrela within the CAMH area. The reason for not wanting to be transferred to a bed at CAMH is that Mr. Skrela would move to the bottom of the privilege ladder and have to build a rapport with a new treatment team from scratch. In addition, there are more than a dozen people ahead of Mr. Skrela on the waiting list to be admitted to CAMH.

15. In response to a question in re-examination from Ms. MacDonald, Dr. Pearce stated that although he could not be precise, he expected that suitable accommodation could be found, and the transfer completed within the upcoming reporting year.

Submissions

16. Dr. Pearce had nothing to add to the submission made at the outset of the hearing beyond saying that Mr. Skrela has worked hard and is to be congratulated for his efforts at rehabilitation. He also thanked Mr. Skrela’s parents for their continued support for their son. Ms. MacDonald and Ms. Boissonneault both supported the submission of Dr. Pearce.

Analysis and Disposition

17. The panel is unanimous in accepting the joint submission of the parties that Mr. Skrela continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public. Mr. Skrela has demonstrated considerable success through the hard work and effort he has made during the past reporting year at Ontario Shores. Nevertheless, he suffers from a major mental illness which, during a psychotic episode, resulted in a nearly fatal attack on his mother. As set out in the Hospital Report, for a number of years prior to the index offence Mr. Skrela became increasingly isolated from his friends and family. While at university he began to experience considerable mental distress although he was never formally assessed or diagnosed. He has also engaged in substance use in the past including significant use of cannabis, alcohol and most recently, MDMA. The panel notes that all of Mr. Skrela's recent achievements have taken place while in the highly supportive environment of Ontario Shores. As set out in the Hospital Report, Mr. Skrela’s risk arises from a return to substance use and/or medication noncompliance which could result in the emergence of symptoms of psychosis. Given his recent history of suspicion towards others, particularly those in his close family environment, there is a potential for risk of violence which meets the definition of significant threat set out in s. 672.5401 of the Criminal Code.

18. The panel’s responsibility after having made a finding of significant threat is to consider the provisions of s. 672.54, of which the safety of the public is the paramount concern, in crafting a disposition for the next reporting year. To their credit, the treatment team have proposed a creative disposition which reflects and acknowledges the substantial gains which Mr. Skrela has demonstrated. Rather than subject Mr. Skrela to the extensive waiting list of an inpatient transfer to CAMH, the team proposes that Mr. Skrela be transferred on an outpatient basis to CAMH Forensic Outpatient Team once suitable accommodation has been found for him within the CAMH catchment area and closer to Mr. Skrela’s parents’ residence in Mississauga. This proposed lateral outpatient transfer has also been approved by CAMH. The Board is unanimous in endorsing this recommendation as both satisfying the concern of the safety of the public while facilitating Mr. Skrela’s reintegration into the community and his other needs.

19. The panel also is unanimous in acknowledging the considerable support which both Mr. Skrela and the treatment team are receiving from Mr. Skrela’s parents. They are playing a vital role in their son’s rehabilitation to the community.

DATED this 4th day of June 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Region of Toronto.

Mr. G. Beasley Alternate Chairperson

Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board