Ontario Review Board
Re: Jessica M. Dobson
ORB File No: 8054
Hearing held on: Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Place of hearing: St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton West 5th Campus, 100 West 5th Street
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before: Alternate Chairperson: Ms. T. Mann Members: Dr. A. Park Dr. G. Kerry Mr. D. D’Intino Ms. C. Plyley
Parties Appearing: Accused: Jessica M. Dobson Counsel: Mr. A. Rai
The Person in Charge of Hospital: Counsel: Mr. S. O’Brien
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. J. McKenzie
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated September 23, 2025)
Introduction
[1]. On April 7, 2022, Jessica Dobson was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (“NCR”) on a charge of attempted murder contrary to the Criminal Code. She is currently subject to a disposition of the Ontario Review Board (“the ORB” or “the Board”) dated July 29, 2024, ordering her detention at the Forensic Psychiatry Program of St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (“SJHH)” or “the Hospital” with privileges up to and including residence in the community of Hamilton in accommodation approved by the person in charge.
[2]. On Wednesday, July 23, 2025, the Board convened a hearing to conduct the annual review of Ms. Dobson’s disposition pursuant to s. 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. Ms. Dobson was present at the hearing and represented by counsel, Mr. A. Rai. Ms. Dobson’s mother, the victim of the index offence, was also present at the hearing to support her daughter.
[3]. The issues to be determined at the hearing were whether Ms. Dobson continued to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public, as defined in s. 672.5401 of the Criminal Code and, if so, the necessary and appropriate disposition.
Positions of the Parties
[4]. At the commencement of the hearing, the parties were asked to provide their initial without prejudice positions with respect to the issues before the Board. Counsel for the Hospital recommended that Ms. Dobson be found to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public and that the necessary and appropriate disposition was a continuation of the current disposition save for amending paragraphs 2(h) and 2(i) to expand the geographic area in which Ms. Dobson may be permitted to enter and live, from Hamilton to Southern Ontario.
[5]. Ms. McKenzie, on behalf of the Attorney General, was generally supportive of the recommendations of the Hospital but wanted to explore the appropriateness of expanding the geographic area within which Ms. Dobson would be able to enter and live given the current understanding that she soon will be transitioning to a residence in Hamilton.
[6]. Mr. Rai advised that Ms. Dobson was aligned with the Hospital’s recommendations as to the issue of significant threat and the necessary and appropriate disposition.
Findings
[7]. For the reasons that follow, the Board finds that Ms. Dobson continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public and that the necessary and appropriate disposition is a continuation of the terms and conditions of the current disposition, except for (a) the addition of the passes to enter the communities of Southern and/or Southwestern Ontario, for up to seven days, indirectly supervised, and (b) to live in the communities of Southern and/or Southwestern Ontario in accommodation approved by the person in charge.
Index Offence
[8]. The circumstances surrounding the index offence are summarized in the last year’s Reasons for Disposition as follows:
“On June 25, 2020, Ms. Dobson stabbed her mother repeatedly as she was on a Zoom video conference in her home office. Other video conference participants saw the attack through the camera. Ms. Dobson admitted trying to kill her mother because her mother killed her friends (which was delusional). Ms. Dobson’s father held her and told police to take her away when they arrived. She was arrested for aggravated assault and attempt murder and responded that she tried to kill her mother. At the time of her arrest there was blood all over her. Ms. Dobson’s father told police she had ongoing mental health and addiction issues and that she had threatened to kill her mother in January 2020. Ms. Dobson’s mother had at least 15 stab wounds. Her injuries were to her neck and head with a laceration on her forearm. She could not move or feel her hand and required surgery. Ms. Dobson gave a statement to the police that she stabbed her mother as her mother was trying to kill her.”
Background Information Regarding the Accused
[9]. The Hospital Report dated July 4, 2025, was entered as Exhibit 1 at the hearing. The Hospital Report provided a great deal of information concerning Ms. Dobson’s personal history, mental health history and course in hospital following the date she was found to be NCR. As such, it is not necessary to reproduce in detail the information contained in it in these Reasons.
[10]. The following summary of Ms. Dobson’s background information is taken from the Reasons for Decision [sic – the Reasons related to last year’s annual review] dated August 20, 2024, as follows:
“Ms. Dobson was born in Toronto in 1987 and raised in London Ontario. She was an average student and had many friends throughout her childhood and adolescence. However, she reported emerging anxiety in her teenage years as a result of familial issues, financial hardship, and performance issues at school. She began experimenting with substances during high school and academic performance declined as a result. Following high school, she did not pursue postsecondary education. Although she held a number of short-term part-time employment positions, her employment history is limited as she was often fired or quit jobs due to tardiness or lack of motivation.
Ms. Dobson has no criminal record.
Ms. Dobson’s first involvement with the mental health system was in 1998 when it was noted she had withdrawn from family and friends and began exhibiting odd behaviours and endorsing paranoia. She enrolled in an early intervention for psychosis program in 2009 and was subject to Community Treatment Orders (CTO) on the substitute consent of her parents due to lack of adherence with medication and programming.
Ms. Dobson’s first hospitalization with respect to mental health concerns occurred in March 2010 after her mother contacted police when Ms. Dobson left the family home, her clothing was found by a river, the family dog was missing, and Ms. Dobson had been noncompliant with medications. On admission to hospital she endorsed paranoid delusions, claimed that she had been compliant with medications and accused her parents of falsifying facts. After she was restarted on medications, she acknowledged experiencing auditory hallucinations and agreed that she needed medications. By the end of the admission her paranoia and hallucinations had subsided, and she was discharged with a diagnosis of Psychosis Not Otherwise Specified, rule out Schizophrenia.
Between 2010 to 2020 Ms. Dobson was hospitalized on eleven occasions for psychiatric care. Often, she was admitted on a Form 1 under the Mental Health Act after being observed to experience auditory and visual hallucinations and paranoid delusions. Her behaviour was bizarre, disorganized and at times threatening to her mother. She consumed excessive amounts of alcohol, and at various times, cannabis, and crystal methamphetamine. In 2020 she advised her psychiatrist that she always felt suicidal.
Ms. Dobson’s last hospitalization prior to the index offences occurred in May 2020, just over 1 month prior to the Index Offence, when she presented herself at hospital complaining of command auditory hallucinations and feeling unsafe. She remained in hospital overnight on a Form one under the Mental Health Act but was released the following day as she no longer met criteria for involuntary admission.”
Current Diagnoses
[11]. Ms. Dobson’s current diagnoses are Schizophrenia, Stimulant (Methamphetamine) Use Disorder (in sustained remission in a controlled environment) and Cannabis Use Disorder (in sustained remission in a controlled environment). Ms. Dobson is capable to consent to treatment with antipsychotic medication and capable of managing her financial affairs as well.
Evidence at Hearing
[12]. The Board had available to it the information contained in the documents forming the Record, as well as the above-noted Hospital Report. In addition, the Board received oral evidence from Dr. A. Olagunju. He indicated he had been Ms. Dobson’s attending psychiatrist since May 2022 and that he had reviewed and adopted the contents of the Hospital Report.
[13]. Dr. Olagunju advised the panel that Ms. Dobson has had a “fantastic” year since her last annual review. Her psychotic symptoms were well managed, she remained abstinent from substance use as demonstrated by negative urine drug screens throughout the year, she attended school without any major issues and, with the support of staff, continued to be medication adherent. She has been an active participant in many therapeutic and recreational programs, including those directed towards managing substance use and others focusing on preparing her for transitioning to living in the community. Ms. Dobson has exercised liberal privileges throughout the review period without any problematic behaviours reported or observed.
[14]. Dr. Olagunju indicated that Ms. Dobson had experienced some heart-related physical health symptoms secondary to clozapine administration, e.g. tachycardia. These symptoms are currently under good control.
[15]. Dr. Olagunju provided a recent update to the Board that Ms. Dobson has received an offer for accommodation from TRHP housing in the city of Hamilton. She has visited the residence, met with staff and is actively engaged with efforts to support her successful discharge. Dr. Olagunju opined that Ms. Dobson will be ready to be discharged from hospital into the community within the next few weeks. The treatment team’s hope is that with their support, Ms. Dobson will continue on her current positive trajectory.
[16]. As for the issue of significant threat, Dr. Olagunju referred to the information in the Hospital Report. In brief, Ms. Dobson’s major mental illness, schizophrenia, is chronic but currently well-managed. Ms. Dobson has a significant history of substance use and her risk to relapse to use of substances is high. When Ms. Dobson is not properly supported, she has poor adherence to medication. When off medication, with or without the catalyst of substance use, her psychotic symptoms, including paranoid delusions, re-emerge, with potentially grave consequences.
[17]. Dr. Olagunju was of the view that Ms. Dobson’s very good progress over the reporting period is mainly related to the fact she has extrinsic support in the form of her ORB detention disposition. The doctor emphasized that absent this, as well as the strong external support and supervision of hospital staff, and the high degree of positive family support she receives, Ms. Dobson’s risk to public safety would be considerably higher.
[18]. When asked to explain the rationale for the Hospital’s recommendation of broadening Ms. Dobson’s disposition to include passes to enter into and live in the community of Southern Ontario, Dr. Olagunju gave two reasons: first, that Ms. Dobson has expressed pursuing a number of vocational interests, some of which may be outside of the city of Hamilton proper and second, that prior to the TRHP residence becoming available, the team wished to increase the likelihood of Ms. Dobson being accepted to an appropriately supportive residence by broadening the geographic area and thereby increasing the number of group homes to which she might apply. However, now that an approved residence has been found, Dr. Olagunju wanted to leave open the possibility that Ms. Dobson could transfer to similarly supportive housing in Elgin County should she wish to do so over the next reporting period.
[19]. Dr. Olagunju commented that Ms. Dobson describes herself as a “small city person” and she likes St. Thomas. Moreover, Ms. Dobson may wish to re-integrate into the geographic area where her family lives. Dr. Olagunju hastened to add that Ms. Dobson is not contemplating moving to the St. Thomas area at this time. To the contrary, she is very excited about the opportunity to live at the TRHP residence in Hamilton.
[20]. Next steps in terms of Ms. Dobson’s treatment plan include focusing on gradually and successfully transitioning to the community. In addition, the doctor is hoping she will continue to engage in programming to help her further build her coping skills and better manage some residual symptoms such as anxiety and depression. Dr. Olagunju underlined the necessity for Ms. Dobson to remain abstinent from substances of abuse, and medication adherent to support remaining mentally stable.
[21]. Lastly, the treatment team is looking forward to supporting Ms. Dobson in her vocational aspirations. Dr. Olagunju expressed the hope that Ms. Dobson would continue to enjoy the rich support that has been provided by her family, saying that it has been a key feature of her recovery.
[22]. In response to questions from counsel for the Attorney General, Dr. Olagunju indicated that Ms. Dobson had two instances of paranoid thinking earlier in the year both of which were unrelated to beliefs involving her mother. The doctor saw this as a good thing overall in that it gave Ms. Dobson an opportunity to demonstrate to the team her openness in communicating her psychotic experiences. Paranoid thinking has not been a concern in the last six months.
[23]. Dr. Olagunju was pressed to expand on the necessity for extending Ms. Dobson’s community living privilege to Southern Ontario, notwithstanding the fact that she now has an offer for community living in Hamilton. Dr. Olagunju indicated that Ms. Dobson continues to be on a waitlist for supportive housing in St. Thomas which will be maintained even if she proceeds to transition to the Hamilton TRHP house.
[24]. Dr. Olagunju pointed out that there is a very good forensic psychiatric hospital in St. Thomas that would likely accept her as a patient if Ms. Dobson wished to reside in St. Thomas. However, currently, Ms. Dobson is desirous of staying in Hamilton and utilizing the supports that are available to her there. If Ms. Dobson decides at some point in the future that she would like to remain in Hamilton, then she can ask to be removed from the waitlist in St. Thomas.
[25]. Dr. Olagunju noted the chronic difficulty experienced by the Hospital in locating appropriate community residences for patients and said that it is always wise to ensure that wider opportunities are available in case the current plan does not go well, or Ms. Dobson would prefer to reside in St. Thomas where she can be close to her family. Dr. Olagunju confirmed that no incidents of physical aggression or violence have occurred over the review period.
[26]. Ms. Dobson’s counsel elicited from Dr. Olagunju confirmation of Ms. Dobson’s positive accomplishments over the past year, including medication compliance, having good insight into her diagnoses and life-long need for treatment and active engagement with psychotherapeutic initiatives, especially the assessment and support offered by occupational therapy.
[27]. Ms. Dobson volunteered to the Board that she continued to experience significant anxiety and wondered if her medications could be adjusted to address this. Dr. Olagunju explained that Ms. Dobson’s current anxiolytic (paracetamol) blocks the enzyme that metabolizes clozapine and so he is being judicious in terms of optimizing the paracetamol to avoid it interfering with the efficacy of clozapine. This will continue to require careful monitoring. Ms. Dobson was encouraged to address this issue with Dr. Olagunju, who would be best situated to deal with it given his knowledge of her treatment needs.
[28]. Questions from the panel of Dr. Olagunju elicited the information that TRHP housing offers 24-hour staff support and that the lease will be signed at the end of the month, following which the transition process will begin in earnest.
[29]. Dr. Olagunju advised the transition process will be very gradual, starting with increasing the length and frequency of passes, and including the possibility of a number of overnight visits prior to the move-in date to ensure that Ms. Dobson feels comfortable in her new home. Other measures to ensure a safe and successful transition from hospital to the community, such as support to learn how to use the city bus routes will be provided. Ms. Dobson’s care will be ultimately transferred to a different psychiatrist on the outpatient team but this is not expected to be a problem given the active integration between Dr. Olagunju and his colleagues on the outpatient team.
[30]. Ms. Dobson expressed excitement and hope about her new housing and felt that it looked to be a good fit for her.
[31]. Other questions from the panel explored the issue of whether the geographic designation of “Southern Ontario” sought by the Hospital included Elgin County. Although no agreement on this issue could be reached by the parties, all were in agreement that the terms of Ms. Dobson’s disposition should not limit her ability to enter or live in Elgin County in view of the deep roots and family support she has there.
Submissions
[32]. In submissions, all counsel maintained the positions taken on behalf of their respective clients. Counsel for the Attorney General advised they were satisfied with the evidence supporting the inclusion of indirectly supervised and live-in privileges exceeding the limited ambit of the community of Hamilton.
Analysis and Conclusions
[33]. Having heard and considered all of the evidence and submissions from the parties, the Board agrees with the joint position that Ms. Dobson represents a significant threat to the safety of the public. However, quite apart from the joint submissions, the Board has no difficulty coming to an independent conclusion on this point.
[34]. Ms. Dobson’s risk flows from her major mental illness, schizophrenia, which in her case carries with it symptoms of paranoid and persecutory ideation, under the influence of which she committed a very serious, criminal and violent offence. This, combined with the destabilizing effect of licit and illicit drugs on her mental state, makes it more probable than not that absent the appropriate level of support and supervision to ensure medication adherence and abstinence from substances, Ms. Dobson could quickly return to the state of mind that engendered the index offence.
[35]. In this regard, The Board relies upon the clinical assessment of risk as formulated at pp 45 to 46. The psychological risk assessment from 2022 prepared by Dr. B. Losier characterized Ms. Dobson’s risk of violent reoffending was considered “moderately low with the support and monitoring provided under a Detention Order disposition”. This was, of course, in the context of Ms. Dobson residing in the well-structured and supportive environment of a forensic in-patient unit. The Hospital Report concludes that the results of Dr. Losier’s psychological risk assessment remain valid. The Board concurs.
[36]. Turning now to determining the necessary and appropriate disposition, the Board notes that within the structured and supportive setting of a forensic rehabilitation unit, Ms. Dobson has made excellent progress. Clinically, Ms. Dobson is currently stable. She is compliant with her medication regimen. She has not presented any behaviour management difficulties and exercises her privileges appropriately. She has enveloped herself in psychotherapeutic programming and consistently demonstrated a high degree of engagement in her treatment plan. Ms. Dobson has remained abstinent from substances of abuse. Her insight into her diagnoses, need for medication and the connection between her diagnoses, non-adherence to antipsychotic medication and the index offence is good. She is remorseful about the harm her index offence caused her mother. She maintains a good relationship with her parents and continues to benefit from their support.
[37]. Since Ms. Dobson’s ability to maintain mental stability and abstinence in a less-structured environment such as a group home has not yet been assessed, the Hospital must retain the ability to return her quickly to hospital in the event of decompensation or threatened decompensation in her mental state, whether by means of substance use, medication non-adherence or otherwise.
[38]. The Mental Health Act, which is retrospective in nature, is insufficient to effectively accomplish this in a timely fashion, including before harm to others occurs. Leaving hospital to reside in the community is likely to be stressful, particularly in the early days; stress is a known destabilizer and a risk factor for maladaptive coping mechanisms such as a return to substance use. However, The Board is confident that the Hospital will take a measured, step-wise approach to carefully support Ms. Dobson’s safe and successful transition to the community. There is no air of reality of a conditional discharge at this time.
[39]. The Board finds that a detention disposition is the necessary and appropriate legal framework within which Ms. Dobson can continue on her very positive trajectory over the coming year.
[40]. As for the expansion of indirectly supervised and live-in the community privileges into Southern Ontario, the Board agrees with the treatment team’s goal of ensuring that Ms. Dobson has an opportunity to pursue her vocational, educational and reintegration goals, including going back to live in the St. Thomas area should she choose to do so. As such, the addition of passes to enter the community of Southern and/or Southwestern Ontario for up to 7 days, and to live in the community of Southern and/or Southwestern Ontario in accommodation approved by the person in charge, will assuredly accomplish these laudable objectives while not escalating Ms. Dobson’s risk to the safety of the public.
[41]. The Board wishes Ms. Dobson another very good year as she learns to safely navigate the change and challenges inherent in moving to supported living in the community.
[42]. In arriving at our Disposition, the Board has considered the paramount factor of the safety of the public, Ms. Dobson’s community reintegration, her mental condition and her other needs, all as required by s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.
DATED this 23rd day of September 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Ms. T. Mann Alternate Chairperson Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board