Phuoc Vo (Re), 2026 CanLII 26879

Ontario Review Board

Re: Phuoc Vo

ORB File No: 8214

Hearing held on: Monday March 2, 2026

Place of Hearing: St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton

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

Before:

Alternate Chairperson: Mr. R. Bigelow

Members: Dr. K. Hand Dr. T. Stirpe Mr. K. McKenna Ms. M. McKinnon

Parties Appearing:

Accused: Phuoc Vo Counsel: Mr. M. Schloss

The Person in charge of Hospital: Counsel: Ms. L. Barney

Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. A. Lepchuk

REASONS FOR DISPOSITION

(Dated March 27, 2026)

Introduction

1. On January 13, 2023, Mr. Vo was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder on charges of second-degree murder (x2) contrary to the Criminal Code. Mr. Vo is currently subject to a disposition of the Ontario Review Board (the Board) dated April 4 2025 ordering that he be detained at the Forensic Psychiatry Program of St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (the Hospital) with privileges up to and including entering the community within a 50 km radius of the Hospital indirectly supervised for vocational purposes only as approved by the treatment team.

2. On Monday, March 2, 2026, the Board convened a hearing to review Mr. Vo’s disposition pursuant to section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Vo was not present at the hearing but was represented by counsel, Mr. Schloss, who advised that his client did not wish to attend the hearing and that he had received clear instructions from his client to proceed in his absence. Neither counsel for the Hospital nor counsel for the Attorney General objected to proceeding in Mr. Vo’s absence and accordingly the hearing proceeded in his absence pursuant to section 672.5(10) of the Criminal Code.

3. The issues to be determined at the hearing were whether Mr. Vo 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, what was the necessary and appropriate disposition that was also the least onerous and least restrictive, taking into account the factors set out in 672.54 of the Criminal Code.

Initial Positions of the Parties

4. At 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 submitted that Mr. Vo continued to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public and that the necessary and appropriate disposition was a continuation of the current detention order without change.

5. Counsel for the Attorney General supported the Hospital’s position.

6. Counsel for Mr. Vo advised that he would not be contesting the issue of significant threat nor the necessary and appropriate disposition, save and except he wished to address whether the current disposition would allow his client to attend sporting events in the Toronto area since being able to do so was quite important to him.

Evidence at the hearing

7. The evidence at the hearing consisted of the Hospital Report dated February 2, 2026 and the oral evidence of Dr. Nagari, Mr. Vo’s most responsible physician.

Findings:

8. For the Reasons that follow, the Board finds that Mr. Vo continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public and that the necessary and appropriate disposition that was also the least onerous and least restrictive was a continuation of the current detention order without change to the terms and conditions.

Index Offences:

9. The circumstances surrounding the index offences which occurred on April 26, 2021 taken from last year’s reasons for disposition are as follows:

[HCV] and his wife, [MK] resided at 1302-20 George Street, Hamilton, Ontario. Their son, the accused, Phuoc VO also resided with his parents at 1302-20 George Street, Hamilton, Ontario.

On Monday, April 26, 2021, at 12:37 pm, Hamilton Police received a 911 call indicating that an Asian male and a female were located in the hallway on the 13th floor of 20 George Street, Hamilton, Ontario. The female party was yelling for help as the male was stabbing her and stabbing himself.

Police arrived on the 13th floor and located the victim, [MK] and her son, Phuoc VO laying on the floor side by side. Both were covered in blood and in critical condition. Phuoc VO gestured to police that there was another victim inside of unit 1302. Police attended unit 1302 and located the second victim, [HCV] on the floor in the living room area with obvious stab wounds.

Witness, [MM] exited his unit and advised police that Phuoc VO was the male who was responsible for the stabbing. [MM] stated that Phuoc VO uttered, “I’m sorry” to the officers and uttered something similar to, “I did this to my mom and dad” or “my parents” and “let me die, leave me alone.”

At approximately 12:46pm, PC George #1358 arrested Phuoc VO for attempt murder x2. Phuoc VO uttered “kill me, shoot me,” “I fucking stabbed them.” [HCV], [MK], and Phuoc VO were all transported to the Hamilton General Hospital for emergency surgery. Both [HCV] and his wife, [MK] succumbed to their injuries and were pronounced deceased at the hospital.

Phuoc VO underwent emergency surgery and is now in stable condition with serious injuries. He is currently intubated and sedated. Due to his current state, police have not been able to arrest Phuoc VO for the second-degree murder of both of his parents.

The entire incident involving [MK] and Phuoc VO was captured on surveillance cameras located in the hallway on the 13th floor.

Background Information Regarding the Accused:

10. As of the date of the hearing, Mr. Vo was 39 years of age. He was born in Thailand and immigrated to Canada with his family through the United Nations Refugee Relocation Program when he was one year old. Although he remained in school until he was 18, he only completed a grade 9 education having failed courses due to truancy and lack of engagement with course material. After leaving school Mr. Vo was employed at his parents pizza restaurant for about a year but left due to frequent arguments with his father. He was subsequently employed at a few other restaurants before obtaining full-time employment at a factory where he worked for approximately five years (2008 - 2013). After leaving that employment he was financially supported by his parents.

Substance Use History

11. Mr. Vo began using cannabis when he was 12 and used casually until he was 15 when he stopped until he was 24. He then resumed using marijuana in an attempt to assist with pain management from an injury and was using 3 to 5 g daily up until the time of the index offences.

12. Mr. Vo began drinking alcohol on a casual basis as a teenager however his alcohol consumption became problematic during his adult years. From 2008 until 2021 he consumed large amounts of alcohol on a daily basis.

Legal History:

13. Mr. Vo’s involvement in the criminal justice system prior to the index offences includes a conviction for driving with more than 80 mg of alcohol in his blood in 2006 and a finding of guilt with respect to a charge of uttering threats in 2020 for which he received a conditional discharge with 15 months probation and a discretionary weapons prohibition for five years.

Psychiatric History

14. Mr. Vo’s only admission to hospital with respect to mental health related issues prior to the Index Offences was in October 2015 when he was brought to hospital by police after attending a police station expressing paranoid beliefs. He was placed on a Form 1 under the Mental Health Act and was noted to be “quite hostile, easily agitated, very paranoid”. He refused medication and did not believe that he required hospitalization. Two days after admission he pulled a fire alarm and eloped from hospital. He was brought back to hospital and placed on a Form 3 under the Mental Health Act and made incapable of treatment decisions. He was started on antipsychotic medication with good effect and his symptoms diminished. After the Form 3 lapsed, he remained in hospital voluntarily and used off ward privileges and weekend passes appropriately. Discharge diagnosis was Psychosis Not Otherwise Specified. He was referred to the Phoenix Program (Early Intervention Service for Psychosis, Halton Healthcare) but only attended two appointments, ceased taking prescribed medication and was discharged from the program.

15. Following the Index Offences Mr. Vo was admitted to hospital with self-inflicted stab wounds, was assessed by psychiatry and described as being “profoundly psychotic, disorganized and likely delirious.” He required physical and chemical restraint. His mental state improved after commencing antipsychotic medication and he was discharged into police custody.

Current Diagnosis

16. Mr. Vo’s current diagnoses are:

• Delusional Disorder

• Alcohol Use Disorder, in remission in a controlled environment

• Cannabis Use Disorder, in remission in a controlled environment

Evidence of Dr. Nagari

17. Dr. Nagari indicated that:

• He has been Mr. Vo’s most responsible physician since July 2023 and had reviewed and adopted the contents of the Hospital Report. By way of an update to the report he noted Mr. Vo had returned to working at the hospital café which he had left in May 2025 in order to avoid potential escalation of a problem with another patient. As of January, Mr. Vo was working two 6-8 hour shifts every week.

• The most notable incident over the year was in August when Mr. Vo physically assaulted a co-patient. The Hospital report summarizes the incident as follows:

The video footage of the incident shows Mr. Vo sitting on the bench outside the unit, and the patient emerging from the elevator and heading straight to the same bench and sitting beside him. Mr. Vo appeared to tell the co-patient to move away. A brief verbal exchange followed, during which Mr. Vo struck the co-patient’s thigh, seemingly to get him to move. Mr. Vo then counted down using his fingers before launching a physical assault - throwing multiple punches, dragging the co-patient by the hair away from the bench, and kicking him. After the co-patient fell to the ground, Mr. Vo delivered additional punches and kicked him in the abdomen before returning to the bench. Another co-patient attempted to intervene but was unsuccessful in stopping the attack.

The nursing staff approached Mr. Vo after learning of the assault and admitted him to seclusion without any resistance. There was no notable deterioration in Mr. Vo’s mental status, and by all observations his presentation was at baseline at the time of admission to seclusion, except for the arousal resulting from the adrenaline. He stated that the co-patient (the victim) had been teasing another patient (with intellectual disabilities) on the unit, and did not stop even after being told to. Mr. Vo found it “very annoying” that the victim did not care in spite of being told to leave the other patient alone.

• After that incident the treatment team decided to make a recommendation that Mr. Vo be transferred to Waypoint due to his aggressive behaviour and contacted the Board with a request for an early hearing to consider the transfer. However, after a few days the treatment team reconsidered that recommendation and withdrew the request for an early hearing. The factors which they took into account in reconsidering the recommendation included that Mr. Vo quickly acknowledged the inappropriateness of this behaviour, wrote an apology letter to the victim of the assault, and displayed motivation to address his difficulties controlling his anger through engagement in Hospital programs for emotional regulation.

• Since the incident Mr. Vo had a number of sessions with a psychologist on a one-to-one basis and his insight into his anger management issues has improved. Mr. Vo had also completed a module of the DBT program at the Hospital and is was on the waiting list for the next module.

• Mr. Vo’s paranoid beliefs that he would be targeted by unknown individuals if he were to enter the community have abated and, although he continues to have concerns that he will be targeted, it no longer prevents him from entering the community.

• Plans for the coming year were for Mr. Vo to continue with the DBT program, optimize medications and work on future oriented thinking.

• The Hospital does organize group outings for sporting events mainly in the Hamilton area but occasionally in the Toronto area. Mr. Vo would be eligible for those outings.

Final Positions of the Parties

18. Counsel for the Hospital and counsel for the Attorney General maintained their initial positions.

19. Counsel for Mr. Vo advised that, having heard the evidence, he was satisfied that as the position being put forward by the Hospital and supported by the Crown would allow for Mr. Vo to attend sporting events with groups, he was joining the other parties in the recommendation.

Analysis and Conclusion, Significant Threat:

20. While the issue of significant threat was not contested at the hearing, the Board nevertheless makes an independent finding that Mr. Vo continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public. Mr. Vo suffers from a major mental illness, delusional disorder, as well as alcohol and cannabis use disorders although in remission in a controlled environment. Despite medication adherence, he continues to experience psychotic symptoms and over the reporting year was involved in two incidents of physical aggression one of which involved punching, restraining and kicking. He continues to become involved in other interpersonal conflicts due to misperceptions potentially activating delusional beliefs.

21. His psychological risk assessment places him in a moderate to high range for violent reoffending with the monitoring and supports in place due to his current detention order disposition.

Necessary and Appropriate Disposition

22. Mr. Vo has been involved in a number of aggressive incidents unrelated to psychotic symptoms showing a significant lack of control of anger and a pattern of reactive violence and emotional dysregulation under stress. His experience of low-grade paranoia continues and he indicates he is not ready to be employed in the community or to leave the Hospital after dark. He is doing well in the highly structured inpatient environment of the Hospital but notwithstanding his compliance with medication and abstinence from substance use he is clearly not ready for a transition to a less structured environment such as living in the community. Prior to consideration of a community transition, he would need to display a significant period of stability without violence and better management of his anger and continuing symptoms of his illness.

23. The evidence clearly establishes that, in order to manage Mr. Vo’s risk to the community, the hospital needs to continue to provide a highly structured and supervised environment with continued abstinence, adherence to medication, and a period of stability without violence prior to consideration of any other form of disposition or consideration of a discharge into the community.

Dated this 27^th^ day of March 2026 at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.

Robert Bigelow

Alternate Chairperson

____________________________

Office of the Registrar

Ontario Review Board