Re: Ian Hammond
ORB File No: 6758
Hearing held on: Thursday, March 19, 2026
Place of hearing: North Bay Regional Health Centre
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Mr. M. Segal
Members: Dr. W. Komer Dr. P. Wright Ms. N. Nathanson Mr. A. Bouvier
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Ian Hammond Counsel: Mr. W. Stickland
Person-in-Charge of Hospital Counsel: Mr. P. Trenker
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. M. Mazurski
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated April 9, 2026)
Introduction
On May 21, 2015, Ian Hammond was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder on the charge of first degree murder contrary to the Criminal Code. Mr. Hammond is subject to a Disposition of the Ontario Review Board (“the Board”) dated April 8, 2025, ordering his detention at the Forensic Program of the North Bay Regional Health Centre (“the Hospital”) with privileges up to and including residence in the community in the catchment area of the Hospital in accommodation approved by the person in charge.
On Thursday, March 19, 2026, the Board convened a hearing to review Mr. Hammond’s Disposition pursuant to section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Hammond was present and represented by counsel, Mr. Stickland. Mr. Hammond’s mother and sister were also present. The issues to be determined at the hearing were whether Mr. Hammond 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.
Position of the Parties:
The Hospital’s initial position was that the current Disposition should remain in place.
Counsel for the Ministry of the Attorney General supported the Hospital’s position.
Counsel for Mr. Hammond supported the keeping the Detention Order in place with an amendment of clause 2 (f) permitting indirectly supervised travel passes be extended up to 14 days from the current allowance of up to 7 days.
The Hospital and Ministry of the Attorney General did not object to this amendment.
All parties indicated that significant threat to the safety of the public was not at issue.
For reasons that follow, the Board finds that Mr. Hammond continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public and that the necessary and appropriate disposition is a continuation of the current Disposition of a Detention Order with the requested amendment in clause 2 (f) that will now allow travel passes up to 14 days, indirectly supervised, with an itinerary pre-approved by the person in charge.
Index Offences:
- The Index Offence was summarised as follows in last year’s Reasons for Disposition:
On March 15, 2014, Donna Hammond, mother of Ian Hammond and ex-wife of the victim, was driving on Woodward Avenue, in Blind River. She and her companion came across Ian attacking the victim John Hammond (his father) with a knife. The victim suffered multiple stab wounds and later died in hospital from these wounds.
When police arrived quickly on the scene, Ian Hammond complied with their request to drop the knife. He was arrested. A post-mortem examination revealed the victim had suffered 16 sharp force injuries, stab wounds, and incised wounds including five of the chest, four of the back two of the face, four of the left arm, and one of the right arm. One of the stab wounds was total to the lower mid-chest of the elderly Mr. Hammond.
Background Information Regarding the Accused:
The Board admitted the Hospital Report, dated February 12, 2026, into evidence as Exhibit #1 and Donna Hammond’s Victim Impact Statement, dated February 24, 2026, as Exhibit #2. Board members had reviewed the statement in advance of the hearing; Ms. Hammond did not wish to read the statement into the record.
The Hospital Report provides in-depth information concerning Mr. Hammond, his personal and mental health history, details of the index offence and Mr. Hammond’s course in hospital and community subsequent to the date of the original NCR finding. As it was made an exhibit in this hearing, it is not necessary to reproduce all the background information in these Reasons with the exception of the specific highlights provided below.
Mr. Hammond’s diagnosis is Schizophrenia and Cannabis Use Disorder, in sustained remission in a controlled environment.
Mr. Hammond is 30 years old. His psychiatric background prior to the Index Offence was summarized in last year’s Reasons for Disposition, excerpted below.
….as a student, Mr. Hammond was described as inattentive, impulsive and with a learning disability in the area of reading and spelling.
Mr. Hammond began experiencing some emerging symptoms of mental illness during the latter part of his high school years. He acknowledged that he began slacking off at school and smoking marijuana. He began using street drugs and misusing his prescribed medication with the explanation that these made him less anxious and calmer.
Mr. Hammond commenced a three-year civil engineering course at Cambrian College in Sudbury, Ontario. He left college as he was not able to cope with the demands of the academic workload. He came under the care of a psychiatrist as well as a general physician. Mr. Hammond was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), specific learning disorder, and secondary active despondency.
Mr. Hammond’s family doctor became increasingly concerned about his mental stability, anxiety, paranoia, and suspicion that other persons were trying to harm him in some way. Mr. Hammond’s family supported him in dealing with his illness.
Since the commission of the index offence Mr. Hammond has had the continued support of his family, particularly his mother.
Since 2023, Mr. Hammond has resided in the community in 24/7 supervised housing initially at a transitional residence at 501 Morris Street, North Bay and as of September 2025 at 780 Lakeshore Drive in North Bay, a CMHA managed permanent residence.
Mr. Hammond has fair insight into his mental health and the need for treatment, understanding the risks of decompensation but he requires assistance with independent living skills. Despite treatment, he experiences reduced but present symptoms of schizophrenia, including paranoia. He has some anxiety for which he can take as needed (PRN) medication. He has good family support, and this year has been negative for substances and had no major notable incidents.
Legal History:
- Mr. Hammond has no previous criminal convictions.
Substance Use History:
- Based on his fluctuating reports, Mr. Hammond’s past drug use is difficult to determine. He has reported extensive drug use with increasing frequency after he left school, but it is unlikely that he would have had the means to acquire drugs in large quantities. On other occasions, he has described using small quantities and becoming paranoid about the content of the drugs.
Risk Assessment
- The Hospital Report identifies the following factors relating to risk and support:
Factors that Indicate a Significant Risk
Mr. Hammond suffers from a severe and persistent mental disorder: schizophrenia. When Mr. Hammond is unwell, he experiences auditory hallucinations, delusional thinking, and persecutory and paranoid ideation, increasing the risk of unpredictable and violent behaviour. The index offence was a sudden, unprovoked, violent incident involving a weapon. Mr. Hammond was only 18 years old at the time.
Mr. Hammond’s history includes problems with traumatic experiences. His index offence was violent, psychotically driven, and resulted in his father's death. Documentation suggests that during his hospital admission, he reported experiencing post-traumatic stress symptoms such as intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, traumatic stimuli avoidance, and hypervigilance, likely directly related to the offence.
Mr. Hammond has a history of difficulties with treatment and supervision, including medication refusal and non-adherence.
It remains to be seen how Mr. Hammond will perform in a less controlled and supervised environment.
Mr. Hammond’s anxiety significantly impacts his ability to increase his sociability, use public transit, and attend community outings; he requires staff support through encouragement and reassurance.
Mr. Hammond fears being stigmatized by the public.
Mr. Hammond needs support to stay engaged in recreational programming.
Mr. Hammond has a history of substance abuse.
Mr. Hammond continues to experience both negative and some positive symptoms of his illness.
Mr. Hammond struggles with long-term goal planning
Factors Contributing to Low Risk
Since April 2023, Mr. Hammond has lived in the community and has not posed a significant management concern. In September 2025, he transitioned to a CMHA group home, which provides permanent housing and 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week support and supervision.
Mr. Hammond has a supportive family.
Mr. Hammond does not have a history of criminal or violent behaviour.
Mr. Hammond has insight into his risk for violence.
Mr. Hammond is willing to participate in psychotherapy.
Mr. Hammond now engages more with his treatment team and openly discusses his thoughts and feelings regarding his illness and index offence.
Mr. Hammond has remained abstinent from substances and alcohol since his discharge to the community. All random urine samples collected during this reporting period were negative for all substances.
Mr. Hammond no longer experiences the behavioural instability he demonstrated in the past. There is no evidence that Mr. Hammond experienced any thoughts of violent ideations or intent. (Hospital Report, pg. 106)
The most recent risk assessment conducted in January 2025 found that risk of future violence is moderate (without all the current supports in place), severity of the violence would be high, and risk of imminent violence is low (with current supports in place).
Evidence at the Hearing:
Dr. Gagnon, Mr. Hammond’s treating psychiatrist, gave evidence. Mr. Hammond lives in a supervised residence that could be a permanent placement. He is anxious about activities and requires support to engage in them. In addition to anxiety, he experiences periodic episodes of paranoia. In general, however, he has greatly improved over 5-6 years becoming much more social. Despite the progress, Dr. Gagnon stated that Mr. Hammond continues to require significant support in daily activities. Mr. Hammond continues to use PRN medications to cope with fluctuating anxiety.
The long term goal is for Mr. Hammond to move closer to family in Sudbury or his home community of Blind River.
In the meantime, it would be appropriate to permit him to travel to Blind River for up to 14 days to visit his mother, who is supportive, yet realistic, and can be relied upon to make sound decisions in respect of Mr. Hammond. His mother stores and dispenses his scheduled medications to him when he is visiting.
Upon questioning, Dr. Gagnon noted that there are no group homes in Blind River and in his view, Sudbury is the best option for Mr. Hammond to move closer to family, although he also noted the high quality of the current residence at 780 Lakeshore. In the Victim Impact Statement, Mr. Hammond’s mother supported a move to Sudbury at some point.
Dr. Gagnon noted that Mr. Hammond has good insight into his symptoms and knows he needs to take his medication. He has some unrealistic goals. He wants to move to Blind River and have his mother take care of his meals and needs. He is not motivated to seek employment until he is discharged from the Board. However, as compared to a year ago, he is more able to engage in activities with support from PRN medication to reduce anxiety.
Ms. Donna Hammond’s Victim Impact Statement, Exhibit #2, outlines the family’s ongoing support and care for Mr. Hammond.
I always want what is best for Ian while keeping safety in mind…. The past couple years have been very positive; Ian has made the most progress he has ever made since being hospitalized at 18 yrs old. With medication, hard work, staff support, recreational activities, his individualized treatment plan and continued family support, Ian can be successful. I will continue my ongoing support along with other family members that love, support, and visit Ian. Ian is a kind, compassionate, thoughtful, and smart young man and has a second chance to have the life he wants and deserves. We have all learnt from this tragedy and continue to work together as a family to support Ian.
Analysis and Conclusions:
Having heard and considered the entirety of the evidence as well as the submissions from the parties, the Board finds that Mr. Hammond poses a significant threat to the safety of the public.
In Winko, the Supreme Court outlined that, in coming to the conclusion on the issue of significant risk, a Review Board should closely examine a range of evidence, including: the circumstances of the original offence; the past and expected course of the accused’s treatment; the present state of the NCR accused’s medical condition; the NCR accused’s own plans for the future; the support existing for the NCR accused in the community; and most importantly, the recommendations provided by experts who examined the NCR accused.
In coming to our conclusion in this matter, the Board relies on the uncontroverted expert evidence of Dr. Gagnon in addition to the documentary evidence before us.
The Panel takes into consideration the fact that Mr. Hammond is presently in stable housing in North Bay, has strong family support, in particular from his mother who works well with the forensic treatment team. The extension of passes to up to 14 days is an appropriate change to the Disposition to allow for longer visits to home and will provide opportunities for Mr. Hammond to exercise greater liberty while under supervision of the Hospital, which is necessary at this point.
While Mr. Hammond had a stable year, we note there are instances of psychosis, despite treatment. His anxiety, while improved, persists, and can interfere with his engagement in activities.
Risk assessment indicates that it is the current oversight program that is keeping Mr. Hammond’s risk of imminent violence low. Risk of future violence would be moderate without those supports and the severity of that violence would be high.
In consideration of all the evidence, submissions of the parties and criteria set forth in s. 672.54, the paramount consideration being the safety of the public, in addition to the mental condition, his reintegration into society and his other needs, the necessary and appropriate Disposition is a Detention Order with the amended condition allowing travel passes of up to 14 days.
The Board wishes Mr. Hammond well. We commend Ms. Donna Hammond for her support and care in working with her son and the Hospital.
DATED this 9th day of April 2026, at the City of Toronto, in the Region of Toronto.
Ms. N. Nathanson Legal Member
Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board