Re: Fahd Husain Khan, 2026 CanLII 39772

Re: Fahd Husain Khan

ORB File No: 8505

Hearing held on: Tuesday, March 24, 2026

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. J. Mills

Members: Dr. J. Watts Dr. G. Stones Ms. M.L. Bridger Mr. A. Bouvier

Parties Appearing:

Accused: Fahd H. Khan Counsel: Mr. P.R. Boushy

The person in charge of hospital: Counsel: Mr. S. O’Brien

Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. J. McKenzie

REASONS FOR DISPOSITION

(Dated April 29, 2026)

Introduction

1Mr. Khan was found not criminally responsible (NCR) on February 28, 2024, for the Criminal Code of Canada (the “Criminal Code”) offences of break and enter commit, attempt murder, and kidnapping.

2He is currently subject to a detention order under a Disposition dated April 5, 2025, with privileges up to and including the ability to enter the community of Southern Ontario indirectly supervised.

3A panel of the Ontario Review Board (the panel) convened this annual hearing on March 24, 2026. at St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Hamilton, West 5th Campus (St. Joseph’s) to review the current Disposition pursuant to s. 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code.

4At the commencement of the hearing, all counsel agreed that significant threat was conceded. Mr. O’Brien for the Hospital, noted that at page 56 of the Hospital Report, the position of the Hospital that there should be no change to Mr. Khan’s disposition, except that Mr. Khan should be permitted to live in the community and have short term passes at the discretion of the Person in Charge. Counsel for Mr. Khan and Counsel for the Attorney General were ad idem with this position.

5After considering all the evidence, the panel concluded that Mr. Khan is a significant threat to the safety of the public and that a continuation of the detention order with the suggested additional privileges is necessary and appropriate.

Index Offence

6The following is a synopsis of the facts pertaining to the index offences.

On August 20, 2022 at approximately 0922hrs, Halton Regional Police Service received a 9-1-1 call for assistance after a personal support worker was stabbed at Millhouse Group Home located at 14022 Third Line in the Town of Acton.

The accused was identified as Fahd KHAN who is the biological brother of a female resident of the group home, Reja KHAN. The accused has no current charges before the court and no past convictions for any criminal offences. The accused has not been allowed to attend the group home since Reja KHAN began living there due to the concern and fear the staff had for their own safety and the safety of Reja KHAN.

Following the death of their parents in the year 2020, Reja KHAN, who suffers from Schizophrenia and is on the Autism Spectrum, was placed under the legal guardianship of her aunt who is the sole decision maker on Reja’s behalf to ensure that she receives the necessary care and treatment for her mental health. Prior to Reja’s father’s death he arranged a sizeable trust fund for his daughter to ensure she continued to receive care because she had been deemed not capable for care for herself by her psychiatrist.

Count 1: Adult Break & Enter (Commit) s. 348(1)(b) CC

On August 20th, 2022, the accused, Fahd KHAN, attended Millhouse Group Home located at 14022 Third Line in the Town of Acton (Region of Halton) where his biological sister, Reja KHAN, has been living since 2020. The accused arrived to the residence in his blue 2006 Honda CRV (suv) bearing Quebec licence plate #X06YLP. The residence is equipped with cctv surveillance cameras which captured footage of the accused as he walked up the driveway carrying a green reusable shopping bag and approached the door to the home where the on-duty personal support worker, Eniko LASZLO, encountered him. LASZLO could be heard telling the accused to leave the residence as he wasn’t permitted on the property at which time he lunged into the home crossing the threshold of the doorway and did commit therein the indictable offence of Attempt Murder contrary to section 239(1)(b) of the Criminal Code. (Note: This should state, did commit therein the indictable offence of Break & Enter (Commit) contrary to section 348(1)(b) of the Criminal Code)

Count 2: Adult Attempt to Commit Murder s. 239(1)(b) CC

On August 20th, 2022, the accused, Fahd Husain KHAN, attended Millhouse Group Home located at 14022 Third Line in the Town of Acton (Region of Halton) where his biological sister Reja KHAN, has been living since 2020. The accused arrived to the residence in his blue 2006 Honda CRV (suv) bearing Quebec licence plate #X06YLP. The residence is equipped with cctv surveillance cameras which captured footage of the accused as he walked up the driveway carrying a green shopping bag and approached the door to the home where the on-duty personal support worker, Eniko LASZLO, encountered him. The accused forced entry into the residence and did attempt to murder LASZLO by stabbing her multiple times using a kitchen knife he brought with him in the green bag. Surveillance cameras inside the residence captured footage of the attack as LASZLO ran from the accused who continued to chase her throughout the home while swinging the knife causing multiple deep lacerations to her head and body which required immediate emergency medical treatment, contrary to section 239(1)(b) of the Criminal

Code Count 3: Adult Kidnapping s. 279(1)(b)

1. The victim, Reja KHAN, has been living at Millhouse Group Home since 2020. The victim suffers from Schizophrenia and is on the Autism Spectrum which prevents her from living independently. Following the death of her parents, her aunt was designated as her guardian and the sole decision maker for her care with the assistance of a large trust fund which was established by her father prior to his death. Since the fall of 2020 the accused, Fahd KHAN, has been attempting to remove the victim from Millhouse Group Home without authorization to do so and has made statements to police that it is his Muslim religious duty to care for his sister and that he has run out of money.

On August 20, 2022, the accused, Fahd KHAN, attended Millhouse Group Home located at 14022 Third Line in the Town of Acton (Region of Halton) where he forced entry into the residence and committed Attempted Murder upon the social worker on-duty by stabbing/slicing her multiple times with a knife causing the social worker to leave the home to call for help. Surveillance cameras inside the residence then captured footage of the accused as he kidnapped his sister, Reja KHAN, pulling on her arm leading her out of the house to his vehicle where he did cause her to be confined in the vehicle against her will and removed from the home, contrary to section 279(1)(b) of the Criminal Code.

A short time after the incident, the accused’s vehicle (a blue 2006 Honda CRV with Quebec licence plate #X06YLP) was located by police on No. 32 Side Road between Fourth and Fifth Line, Halton Hills after it had crashed into a ditch. The accused was located a short distance away by police walking with his sister, Reja KHAN, while carrying the green reusable shopping bag which was later found to contain a hatchet with cover, roll of duct tape, white nylon rope, and a black 10” Cuisinart kitchen knife with blood on the blade (the knife used in the stabbing).

The accused was originally non-compliant with verbal instructions to surrender and following a taser deployment he was successfully placed under arrest at approximately 9:38am.

Following medical treatment at Georgetown District Hospital, the accused was transported to 20 Division Central Lockup where he was given an opportunity to speak with duty counsel and interviewed.

The accused was held pending a bail hearing for the above listed criminal offences.

Hospital Report dated March 9, 2026

7The Hospital Report dated March 9, 2026 was prepared for this hearing and contains a detailed review of Mr. Khan’s personal and mental health history.

8Mr. Khan is diagnosed with schizophrenia. He has no criminal record or history of alcohol or substance abuse.

9At the time of the index offences, he was living in his car in a parking lot in Acton. Mr. Khan travelled from Montreal to Ontario in April 2022, for the purpose of obtaining legal guardianship of his sister.

10Mr. Khan graduated from the University of Toronto in 2008 with a Bachelor of Business Administration. He has not had gainful employment since his graduation.

11Health records indicate that symptoms of mental illness began to emerge in 2014. Mr. Khan reports that his father refused to discuss Islam, and their relationship became strained. He was asked to leave his father’s home on three occasions and sought the assistance of a local Mosque and shelter for housing. Mr. Khan’s mother died in April 2020 and his father in July 2020. Mr. Khan’s aunt, Ms. Rubab Khan, lives in India and is the power of attorney for Reja Khan.

12In September 2019, Mr. Khan was taken to the hospital by the police after his father completed a Form 2 under the Mental Health Act. The Hospital Report indicates that his father was concerned with his son’s lack of hygiene, hyper-religiosity, and paranoia. Mr. Khan was not eating a sufficient amount and had lost 80 pounds over 3 years.

13In March 2021, Mr. Khan was taken by the police to the emergency department at a hospital in Montreal. He was found by police wandering the street in a disorganized and disoriented state, speaking incoherently in Arabic. From March 26 to May 5, 2021, Mr. Khan was hospitalized in Verdun, Quebec, and underwent a psychiatric assessment.

14In June 2022, he was assessed by the Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Team in a park where he had been sleeping in his car. Persecutory delusions were observed related to people preventing him from living in a way approved by Allah.

15Following the index offence, Mr. Khan was taken to Maplehurst Correctional Complex in August 2022. A report describes him as flat, religiously preoccupied, suspicious, and paranoid. He prayed all day and expressed that angels were talking to him. He was sent to a hospital for a psychiatric assessment after assaulting a staff member and returned to Maplehurst on July 17, 2023.

16He was hospitalized at the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital from June 27, 2023, to July 17, 2023. The records indicate that Mr. Khan, despite his various hospitalizations, had not received consistent psychiatric treatment. There is a concern expressed in the hospital records that Mr. Khan’s illness is severe and persistent, and that schizophrenia has a neurodegenerative effect, especially when untreated. The records indicate that he was dishevelled with thought disorganization. Mr. Khan reported having command hallucinations and stated that he would follow any direction he received from God, including commands to harm others. He reported hearing voices from various sources, including Satan, Jinns, angels and God. He also expressed thoughts revealing persecutory delusions.

17There have been no issues with Mr. Khan’s behaviour at St. Joseph’s since his admission following the NCR finding.

18He is incapable of making treatment decisions.

19When he was first admitted, Mr. Khan reported seeing angels and hearing their voices. This occurred less frequently with treatment. He continued, however, to experience persecutory delusions.

20Mr. Khan experienced significant and profound negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Initially, he would spend most of the day lying in bed and had a severe lack of motivation. He also lacked insight into his condition and need for treatment. He would not accept the diagnosis and believed the vision and voices of angels were real. He was also preoccupied with very rigid religious beliefs, and the Hospital expressed a concern that Mr. Khan could not separate religious beliefs from religious delusions. He has damaged relationships with various Imams in the past because of his extreme religious beliefs which exceeded the usual practice of Islam.

21The index offences resulted from his belief that his sister had to be rescued, and that it was necessary for him to remove her from the residence by any means. He continued to express a concern to hospital staff that his sister was being held in her group home against her will.

22The Hospital Report described Mr. Khan’s first year at St. Joseph’s following the index offences. There was no clinical change to his mental status. He remained adherent to his scheduled medications. He did not properly attend to his hygiene, and his insight and judgment were described as poor. He did not participate in recreational programming, preferring to spend the day isolated in his room praying or resting. He did not interact with staff or co-patients on the unit. The delusional religious thoughts continued.

23Mr. Khan was admitted to Harbor North 3 on April 25, 2024. There have been improvements in various areas this past year. He spends less time in his room and participates in recreational therapy programs. He attends to his hygiene appropriately. There were no perceptual disturbances either observed by staff or reported by Mr. Khan. There were also no indications of overt psychosis, and there was no aggressive behaviour or indications of agitation. Importantly, he no longer endorses persecutory delusions related to the welfare of his sister and recognizes that his behaviour at the time of the index offences was a consequence of his illness.

24In the Hospital’s opinion, as provided in the Hospital Report, Mr. Khan remains a significant threat to public safety. It refers to the severity of the index offences, and Mr. Khan’s history of discontinuing medication and experiencing a relapse of psychosis.

Testimony of Dr. Nagari

25Dr. Nagari has been treating Mr. Khan since April 2024. He was asked how Mr. Khan had done since his last hearing in April 2025, the doctor answered that he had done somewhat better than the year before.

26Mr. Khan has developed gradual improvement in insight and less preoccupation with his religion (he is Muslim). Previously, he believed watching sports on television or watching any television programming whatsoever was wrong and contrary to the Koran. Now, he will watch sports with his co-patients. He will not turn the TV off or on but he will watch it with the others. He believes that something in the Koran states he must not create an image and to turn the television off or on creates an image. However, just watching television is progress for him. He is challenging his own interpretations of the Koran.

27He also volunteered at Good Shepherd in Hamilton, which is a homeless shelter.

28Mr. Khan has cooked for himself.

29His sister was one of two victims of the index offences, where he attempted to kidnap her from the home she was living in. In order to do so, Mr. Khan stabbed the female social worker on duty several times. Mr. Khan believed he was fulfilling his duty as a brother, but now he is starting to accept he may have been wrong. His religious beliefs are starting to move more towards a normal range, and he is not as preoccupied as in the past.

30His social worker, who was present at the hearing, indicated that Mr. Khan participated in a program in healing and forgiveness.

31Mr. Khan had indicated that he was interested in working at minimum wage jobs but now thinks he might not be able to handle it, and Dr. Nagari does not disagree.

32Mr. Khan’s treatment team thinks that community living has to be included in his disposition mostly because the waiting lists are so long that he has to get on them in order to have any hope of getting a place in a year or two, probably two. He is on a long-acting antipsychotic injection. He has shown no aggressive behaviours. The team finds him pretty honest and easy to work with.

33The Hospital is asking for the seven day passes so if there is a residence that is agreeable, Mr. Khan can go there for a trial period.

34Illness and Progress: Most importantly, heneeds to adhere to treatment. He must take his medication and engage with the treatment team. Mr. Khan completed cognitive behaviour therapy for psychosis. This concluded the evidence in chief of Dr. Nagari.

35In cross-examination, the Crown elicited evidence that while Mr. Khan’s insight is improving, he is not going to abandon his lifelong beliefs or his current beliefs of Islam. He still believes his sister was being abused and held against her will. However, he feels extremely bad about hurting a woman, the social worker. He does not appear to have any fixations about anyone else. He hopes one day he can be reunited with his sister. Counsel for Mr. Khan had no questions.

36In questions from the panel, one member asked about Mr. Khan having been able to finish a degree in business and computers. The member asked why he was not pursuing this as a career. Dr. Nagari stated that he believes Mr. Khan does not have the capacity or reserves to return to those types of studies. The member asked if that would not indicate a rather marginalized life and Dr. Nagari agreed that it would. Mr. Khan does try to keep up with changes to his studies, but working is a different matter altogether.

37The same member asked about the accused hoping for a reunion with his sister. Dr. Nagari noted that now that both parents are dead, his sister is his only immediate family member. The treatment team did contact the sister’s doctors to see if there might be a possibility for remote contact–although there is in fact a no-contact order at this time. There is no indication that Ms. Khan’s wants contact with him. Further, her doctor felt that contact with Mr. Khan would be traumatic for her and they would not recommend it. Mr. Khan continues to hope he will be able to reunite one day with his sister who is his last remaining immediate family member.

38Another member noted there had been an indication in the Hospital Report that Mr. Khan would be inheriting a substantial amount of money from his father’s estate. The money appears to be held in trust by the bank. The Hospital is unaware of the amount of the inheritance, and it appears no sums have been distributed as of yet.

39A different member referred to last year’s report and asked whether the Hospital had arranged for Mr. Khan to meet with an Iman so that he could have discussions about the Koran. This had been done and he met with the Iman twice. Neither Mr. Khan nor the Iman had asked for further meetings but, if either did, these would be accommodated. Mr. Khan enjoys talking to the Hospital Chaplain, who is a Roman Catholic priest.

40The Alternate Chair asked if Mr. Khan’s unit, Harbour North 3, provided sufficient liberty for him to exercise the requested privileges. It does. The Alternative Chair asked why there was a condition that Mr. Khan not consume alcohol given that has he has not done so since he was a student. Mr. O’Brien indicated that condition could be removed but he wanted the testing provision to remain because “people can change”.

Submissions

41At the conclusion of the evidence, the parties agreed that a continuation of the detention order with the additional privileges suggested by the Hospital was appropriate. The Hospital and the Crown both submitted the screening for substance use provision should remain while counsel for Mr. Khan took no position.

Analysis

42Although significant threat was conceded, the Board finds independently that it continues to exist. There is the long history of schizophrenia and treatment non-compliance, and although his religious delusions have abated, they do remain.

43After considering the evidence, the panel agrees that a continuation of the detention order, with the previous conditions, as well as the addition of community living and the 7 day passes as requested, is the necessary and appropriate disposition. Mr. Khan has demonstrated significant improvement in his condition over the past year. He has been asymptomatic, engaged in programming, and engages with co-patients. He is cooperative with staff. His religious beliefs have become less rigid, and he is more tolerant of different religious perspectives.

44The index offences were extremely serious. Mr. Khan went a prolonged period of time without treatment for his schizophrenia, and his mental state and behaviour suffered to a great extent. He has a history of non-compliance with medication or any form of treatment. He developed very extreme and rigid religious delusions and hallucinations. He came to believe that it was appropriate to harm people if directed by God.

45The Board wishes Mr. Khan a good year and hopes he will work closely with the treatment team.

46It is appropriate for his privileges to be expanded to include 7-day passes into the community for the purposes of finding suitable housing. In addition, the Board is removing the no-alcohol and submitting to urine testing clauses, as he has not been known to drink for several years and the Board does not consider these conditions to be necessary.

47In arriving at our conclusions, the Board has considered the paramount factor of the safety of the public, Mr. Khan’s mental condition, his community reintegration and his other needs, all as required by s.672.54 of the Criminal Code.