Re: Darius Watts
ORB File No: 8579
Hearing held on: Tuesday, December 16, 2025
Place of hearing: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Ms. S. Kert Members: Dr. T. Verny Dr. G. Nexhipi Hon. C. Nelson Mr. W. Apted
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Darius Watts Counsel: Mr. J. Marshman
The person in charge of hospital: Counsel: Mr. D. Blumenkrans
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Mr. J. Canton
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated February 4, 2026)
Overview
On June 18, 2024, Darius Watts was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (“NCR”) on a charge of aggravated assault. Following his first Review Board hearing in October 2024, Mr. Watts was ordered detained at the Forensic Service of CAMH, with potential privileges extending to indirectly supervised community passes within Toronto.
On December 16, 2025, this panel of the Review Board convened a hearing at CAMH to review that disposition. Mr. Watts attended with his lawyer. His mother, the victim of the index offence, was also present to show her support for her son.
The issues to be decided at this hearing are whether Mr. Watts continues to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public and, if so, what is the necessary and appropriate disposition, considering the four factors in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.
None of the parties contested a finding of significant threat. CAMH and Mr. Watts submitted that the current detention disposition should continue with changes to include: i) a clause permitting Mr. Watts to live in accommodation approved by the person in charge of CAMH; ii) a reporting requirement of not less than once per week when living in the community; and iii) extending “the community” from Toronto to the Greater Toronto Area. The Crown took no position in respect of the recommended changes to the disposition, though noted that Mr. Watts is obviously doing well and that the changes would afford him the ability to move forward.
Having considered all of the evidence, the submissions and the relevant caselaw, we find that the threshold test for significant threat is met, and agree that a detention disposition with the changes proposed by CAMH is necessary and appropriate for the coming year. These are our reasons.
Background and Index Offence
Mr. Watts is 40 years old. He was born in Barbados and immigrated to Canada to live with his mother at the age of 7 or 8. He struggled with learning difficulties in elementary and high school, and left school a few courses shy of completing grade 11 or 12. He started working at the age of 17, including as a housepainter and with his stepfather as a roofer. In December 2005, he was convicted of robbery (reportedly for stealing cigarettes from a convenience store) and received a one-year conditional sentence.
Mr. Watts’s mental illness began around 2006 and worsened over time. By 2009, his symptoms included withdrawal, impaired concentration, some social isolation, and depressed mood. He was also a “constant marijuana user over that time period, at least one joint per day – more days than not each week.” (hospital report, p.10)
While working as a roofer in early 2010, Mr. Watts experienced auditory hallucinations. He was trying to cope with significant stressors at the time and heard voices telling him that he was a loser. He quit his job, refused to eat, or sleep, and appeared to be responding to internal stimuli. He also threatened his mother. In March 2010, he was hospitalized for two weeks after displaying aggressive, angry, and bizarre behaviour at home during the preceding two months. In hospital he presented as paranoid and distrustful. Treatment with low dose antipsychotic medication and the cessation of cannabis use while in hospital resulted in the resolution of his symptoms.
On discharge, Mr. Watts was referred to the First Episode Psychosis Clinic (“FEPC”) at CAMH. He became a patient of the FEPC and was followed for several years. At about the same time (in late March 2010), he began receiving mental health care from Dr. Wong (his family physician) for a diagnosis of schizophrenia, including regular treatment with antipsychotic medication. This also continued for years. A note from Dr. Wong’s records in September 2014 indicates that Mr. Watts was on a long-acting intramuscular medication, risperidone.
As of May 2018, Mr. Watts was still receiving monthly injections (possibly paliperidone) through Dr. Wong’s office, but his self-care and judgment were poor. A discharge note from the FEPC in July 2018 reflected that Mr. Watts was compliant over the years in taking his monthly antipsychotic injection. It also noted that he denied experiencing hallucinations or delusions over the years of treatment, although his mother occasionally observed him talking to himself.
Dr. Wong’s records indicate that, with adherence with medication, Mr. Watts continued to do relatively well in the community for several years. However, a note from Dr. Wong’s clinic from February 2021 states that Mr. Watts’ mother reported that he was not sleeping and was talking to himself, though Mr. Watts was dismissive of her concerns. Further, a note from Dr. Wong dated December 12, 2022 (five days before the index offence) indicated that Mr. Watts’ mother reported that although he had received his Invega five days earlier, he seemed to “get worse with anxiety and paranoid ideation. …He called police today and is not coming out of his room.” Dr. Wong planned to add oral aripiprazole to Mr. Watts’s medication regimen and to see him the following week.
The index offence occurred on December 17, 2022. At the time, Mr. Watt’s was living with his mother and stepfather in their apartment. That night, he was pacing back and forth, unable to sleep and talking about spirits watching him. Mr. Watts’ mother contacted police to advise that her son was in crisis and needed to be taken to the hospital. She also expressed concern that he might become violent. Hearing his mother on the phone, Mr. Watts grabbed a large kitchen knife, entered her bedroom, and stabbed his mother in the back and the leg. He then dropped the knife and fled the apartment. The police attended and found Mr. Watts outside shortly after. He was arrested, charged, and held in custody. He subsequently acknowledged smoking cannabis and cigarettes every day in the weeks and days prior to the index offence.
Mr. Watts was detained in custody at the Toronto South Detention Centre from his arrest in December 2022 until his admission to CAMH on July 23, 2024, after the finding of NCR. In custody at the detention centre, Mr. Watts initially received a monthly paliperidone injection, which was changed to Trinza (administered every three months) in November 2023. Throughout his period of custody, he presented as generally cooperative with low management concerns.
Course Since Last Hearing
At the time of his initial hearing in October 2024, Mr. Watts was residing on the Forensic Assessment and Treatment Unit at CAMH. He was working well with staff, was receiving DBT therapy and was participating in recreational activities. The focus for the team for the next year was described as rehabilitation and developing core skills for Mr. Watts, including everyday living skills.
At the current hearing we received evidence from CAMH in the form of an updated hospital report, as well as oral testimony from Dr. Robertson, who has been working with Mr. Watts. That evidence revealed as follows: For the first part of the clinical year, Mr. Watt’s mental status remained relatively stable. He continued to experience residual psychotic symptoms such as vague paranoid concerns, auditory hallucinations, and related transient symptoms. In April 2025, he transitioned well following a move to a secure unit. After an altercation with a co-patient in early June, he was transferred to another secure unit. He settled well into the new unit milieu and there were no safety or behavioural concerns. He was approved for indirectly supervised passes on hospital grounds for recreation and socialization, which he exercised without issue. He continued to endorse low-intensity auditory hallucinations, though these did not appear to affect his emotional or behavioural control.
In August 2025, Mr. Watts was transferred to a general forensic unit. He has continued to do well since that time and has maintained a busy schedule of programming and recreational activities. His mother remains a significant source of support for him.
In late September, given the distressing nature of his eye rolling (a side effect attributable to his long-acting injectable medication), Mr. Watts was switched to a different long-acting injectable with lower risk of eye rolling side effects (aripiprazole). Mr. Watts has not experienced any side effects secondary to the aripiprazole and there has been no subsequent decompensation of his psychotic illness. However, as described by Dr. Robertson, there is still a possibility that the Abilify alone may ultimately be insufficient to prevent decompensation, and an oral adjunct medication may be necessary. As such, the team continues to closely monitor Mr. Watts for early signs of decompensation.
Dr. Robertson said that after a period of about six months, he would feel relatively assured that the new medication is working for Mr. Watts. Based on this view, as well as Mr. Watts’ progress over the year, the clinical team anticipates that within the next 12 months, Mr. Watts could safely live outside of the hospital in supportive housing. Dr. Robertson said that as Mr. Watts does have some cognitive limitations, his risk would be most effectively managed with staff on site at his housing to monitor his mental state and provide assistance with some higher-level tasks, including medication administration. The treatment team is also actively exploring whether Mr. Watts qualifies for Developmental Services Ontario (DSO) assistance, which could unlock some Passport funding for him, and possibly housing opportunities.
Mr. Watts also testified briefly. He was clear that he would like to live close to his mother in a different unit in her building “because everyone in my community loves me and supports me.” He said that he is not a threat to anybody and that the index offence happened because he was smoking a little cannabis to calm himself down, and this interacted poorly with his injection.
Analysis and Conclusions
Based on the evidence, we agree with the parties that the threshold test for significant threat continues to be met. Mr. Watts has a longstanding history of schizophrenia. When unwell, he has experienced auditory hallucinations and paranoid ideation, and has presented with agitation, aggressive behaviour, and violence, notably at the time of the index offence. Though his symptoms appear well-controlled on his current medication regimen (there have been no emerging psychotic symptoms since the switch), he has only been on Abilify monotherapy since late September 2025, and there remains uncertainty as to whether the current regimen will be sufficient to keep his psychotic symptoms in remission. Close monitoring by a forensic treatment team remains necessary to ensure that any signs of decompensation are caught and addressed early.
Mr. Watts’ risk is associated not only with his mental illness, but also with his use of cannabis, which has a destabilizing effect on his mental state. He previously used cannabis on a regular basis to calm his nerves or to self-medicate when he felt his psychiatric medication start to wear off. This was true around the time of the index offence and, as stated by Dr. Robertson, was likely a significant contributor to his psychosis at that time. Although Mr. Watts has remained abstinent since being at CAMH, he has struggled to make the connection between cannabis use and decompensation of his mental state or risk for future violence. As such, ongoing monitoring and testing is necessary to ensure that he remains abstinent as he begins to exercise greater liberty and community privileges.
We also find that the current detention disposition remains necessary and appropriate, with an expansion of the geographic boundary of Mr. Watts’ community privileges (to include the GTA) and the addition of a community living privilege and related reporting condition. As described by Dr. Robertson, Mr. Watts has shown steady improvement since being at CAMH. He is pro-social and reliable. He has been using passes without incident, including indirectly supervised on the hospital grounds. The team anticipates that he can continue to move safely and gradually through the privilege ladder, and that community living in supportive housing is a reasonable goal for the coming year. At a minimum, a community living privilege is necessary to allow Mr. Watts to be placed on a waitlist for appropriate housing. To allow him to take advantage of rehabilitative and recreational programming/activities outside of Toronto, we have also expanded his community access to include the Greater Toronto Area.
Finally, we wish to note that prior psychological testing in August 2024 indicated that Mr. Watts was having trouble with his hearing aids (he reported hearing less than 30% in each ear, even after the batteries were changed) and that problems with hearing can lead to low frustration tolerance. Although the assessor recommended that Mr. Watts “would be well served” to have an updated audiology assessment and have hearing aids that “are appropriate to his needs,” it is not clear whether CAMH has acted on these recommendations. If this has not occurred, we agree that these are important suggestions that should be implemented to assist Mr. Watts.
DATED this 4th day of February, 2026, at the City of Toronto, in the Region of Toronto.
Ms. S. Kert Alternate Chairperson
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Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board