Re: Trenton Richardson
ORB File No: 7960
Hearing held on: Wednesday, April 8, 2026
Place of hearing: Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre
Pursuant to: Sections 672.81(1) and 672.81(2.1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Mr. M. Segal
Members: Dr. H. Bloom
Dr. P. Wright
Mr. J. Goldenberg
Ms. R. Chopra
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Trenton Richardson
Counsel: Ms. A. Gallo
Person in charge of Hospital: Representative: Mr. J. Cooper
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Mr. T. Jukes
REASONS FOR DECISION & DISPOSITION
(Dated May 11, 2026)
Introduction:
Trevor Richardson, age 34, was found on October 20, 2021, not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder on charges of aggravated assault (x 2) and fail to comply with a probation order contrary to Criminal Code. Mr. Richardson is subject to a Detention Order with privileges up to and including living in the community in accommodation approved by the person in charge.
On April 8, 2026, Mr. Richardson appeared before the Ontario Review Board (the Board) from the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (“the Hospital”) for his annual hearing. A Restriction of liberty that lasted between January 25 and March 19, 2026, was also an issue.
Position of the Parties:
In preliminary positions, all parties supported the current disposition without changes, significant threat to the safety of the public being conceded. All parties also agreed that the Restriction of Liberty was justified in the circumstances.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the Board found that the joint submission was appropriate.
The Board had the benefit of a hospital report dated March 23, 2026, as Exhibit 1 and a criminal record as Exhibit 2.
Psychiatric History:
- Mr. Richardson’s diagnosis is:
Schizoaffective Disorder
Substance Use Disorder – Cannabis (Past History)
Index Offence:
- The index offence is described as follows:
“On March 13, 2021, at shortly after 5 a.m., Ronald Pumphrey (67 years old) and Ernestine Pumphrey (also known as Ernestine Doiro, 68 years old), were asleep in their motel room 505 at the Midtown Inn, located 61 Cumberland Street North, Thunder Bay, ON.
Ronald Pumphrey was awakened by loud noises in the motel hallway and a banging on the door to his room.
Ronald Pumphrey exited his room into the hallway, where he saw Trenton
Richardson (age 29), who was completely naked. Trenton Richardson was
previously unknown to Ronald Pumphrey.
Trenton Richardson rushed at Ronald Pumphrey and attacked him in the hallway, repeatedly striking him in his face and head with closed fists. When Ronald Pumphrey was knocked to the ground by the blows, Trenton Richardson continued to punch and kicked him in the face and head while he was on the floor.
Ernestine Pumphrey heard the sound of her husband getting beaten in the hallway and started towards the door to go check on her husband. At this point, Trenton Richardson pushed open the door to her room, barging in and knocking her to the floor.
Trenton Richardson then got on top of Ernestine Pumphrey and repeatedly struck her in her face and head area with his closed fists. She estimates that he punched her at least 8 times. Trenton Richardson was previously unknown to Ernestine Pumphrey.
Trenton Richardson then left the room and went back into the hallway where he again began to attack Ronald Pumphrey by punching him repeatedly in the face and head. Finally, Ronald Pumphrey was able to get away, and he managed to re-enter his own room. Trenton Richardson left the immediate area but stayed in the motel. An employee at the motel had heard a commotion and called 911. Ronald Pumphrey also called 911 once he managed to get back into his room.
Police officers arrived on the scene shortly thereafter and saw Trenton Richardson in the lobby area of the motel. Trenton Richardson was pacing back and forth in a seemingly distraught fashion and was also at times both mumbling and shouting. Police noticed that Trenton Richardson had skinned knuckles and blood on his hands and he was detained in custody at that time.
Police attended to room 505 where they found Ronald and Ernestine Pumphrey. At that time, police noted that Ronald Pumphrey had sustained serious head injuries as a result of the assault on him by Trenton Richardson. His face was covered in blood. He had a completely swollen shut eye and blood was coming out of his other eye (left) area. He also had several teeth knocked out, but the exact number was not able to be ascertained at that time due to the swelling to his mouth and head. Ronald Pumphrey indicated that he had lost consciousness during the assault but came to at some point and was able to re-enter his room and call 911.
At the scene, Ernestine Pumphrey was noted by police to have also sustained serious head injuries as a result of the assault on her by Trenton Richardson. It was noted by police that her face was covered in blood, and it was dripping from her chin. Her left eye was swollen shut, and it was purple. She was unsteady on her feet and very upset. Police assisted her in practicing deep breathing until paramedics arrived. Ernestine Pumphrey stated that she had not lost consciousness during the assault but felt that she had been very close to doing so.
There was blood and blood spatter in room 505 and in the hallway.
Paramedics arrived and both Ronald and Ernestine Pumphrey were taken to
Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre by ambulance. Further investigations revealed that Trenton Richardson had been staying in Room
508 at the motel for a number of months.
Police reviewed the motel surveillance video which captured Trenton Richardson’s assault on Ronald Pumphrey as noted above and also showed Trenton Richardson forcing his way into room 505, emerging minutes later and then assaulting Ronald Pumphrey again. Police noted that, prior to the assaults, Trenton Richardson had exited his own room completely naked and started pacing back and forth in the hallway before he began banging on the doors of several room while shouting. The injuries to Ronald Pumphrey were serious and long-lasting. The attack resulted in him spending the night in Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre with a very damaged left eye. He left the next day for surgery in Winnipeg to repair a damaged pupil. Future surgery will be required at a later date to repair the lens, which had also been damaged. To date, vision in Ronald Pumphrey’s left eye has not been restored. There have been ongoing infections and other complications. He lost many teeth as well.
The injuries sustained by Ernestine Pumphrey were also serious and long-lasting. She suffered 2 bones broken in her left jaw which required surgery to insert steel plates. The whole left side of her face and gums was numb - some of the numbness still remains. She could not sleep on her left side for months.
At the time of these assaults, Trenton Richard was on a probation order requiring him to keep the peace and be of good behaviour. He was placed on the order by Justice Peter Joubert of the Ontario Court of Justice in Kenora after being convicted of manslaughter on January 23, 2019. The duration of the probation order was 3 years, following a period of 2 years less a day incarceration.”
The hospital report sets out a great deal of information regarding Mr. Richardson’s personal history, details of prior convictions, and the course in hospital.
In 2013, Mr. Richardson, while in Lake of the Woods District Hospital, assaulted his psychiatrist. On June 10, 2015, he was granted an Absolute Discharge. In February 2018, Mr. Richardson pleaded guilty to manslaughter relating to his grandmother and received a custodial sentence of 730 days and three years’ probation. There is little detail in the hospital report regarding that latter event.
Evidence at Hearing
Dr. R. Sheppard, the patient’s psychiatrist, testified. Dr. Sheppard noted that Mr. Richardson was doing quite well and was living independently in the community. There are staff onsite at his residence most days of the week. The patient receives both antipsychotic and mood stabilization medication orally.
Mr. Richardson mostly adheres to his medication regime. There is a history of medication non-adherence that is the context for the index offence and the two other incidents highlighted above.
Mr. Richardson can be socially isolative. He is a gifted painter and therefore spends a lot of time doing that by himself. He is generally engaged with the forensic outreach team. He sometimes attends neighbourhood events and often attends the CMHA Club. He also attends an alcohol-free bar and meets up with friends for lunch.
Dr. Sheppard told the Board that Mr. Richardson’s illness is mostly under control. His most recent relapse relating to the Restriction of Liberty happened after he was not taking his medication as completely as required. This led to re-appearance of symptoms and persecutory delusions.
Mr. Richardson stabbed himself, a suicidal gesture. Fortunately, no great harm occurred, but for safety reasons he was admitted to hospital on January 25, 2026, brought by police to emergency. Upon his admission, his mood was elevated and he was irritable for a few days. He recovered quickly. Privileges and passes were granted until he was released on March 9, 2026. He had also been consuming cannabis before admission.
Mr. Richardson is now at baseline. He is doing well. He is followed by the forensic outreach team and seen weekly by his case manager. Mr. Richardson’s moods are susceptible to variation. Depressive aspects continue to be present. When depressed, he is harder to engage. Prior to the latest admissions, danger signs were not obvious to the team.
There have been discussions with the patient about switching to a long-acting injection. Mr. Richardson’s reason for declining an injection is tied to side effects he suffered when last receiving an injection. He had akathisia involving uncomfortably involuntary motion. While Dr. Sheppard believes that the benefits of long-acting injections outweigh the downsides, Mr. Richardson, who is capable to consent to treatment, has made an understandable decision which cannot be dismissed.
Some of Mr. Richardson’s mood swings last days or weeks. Now he is fairly stable. There is no psychosis. The akathisia impacted his mental health. There are aspects of Mr. Richardson’s behaviour which do not perfectly fit his schizoaffective disorder diagnosis.
Questions from panelists included the period preceding the 2013 index offences, the journey to the 2015 Absolute Discharge, and the immediate aftermath. That history was not fleshed out in the hospital report. Dr. Sheppard believes that Mr. Richardson is committed to taking his medications, understanding that taking them is a lifelong endeavour. The Hospital continues to pay close attention to that commitment given the diagnoses, mood swings, and patient’s history.
Dr. Sheppard expanded upon the manslaughter. Mr. Richardson had returned to his mother’s home as she was either in the process of succumbing to cancer or had recently passed. Mr. Richardson was experiencing auditory hallucinations and was delusional. No N.C.R. assessment was performed and Mr. Richardson pleaded guilty. The responsible hospital at that time was in Lake of the Woods. After arrest, the patient was assessed there and discharged back into police custody. In Dr. Sheppard’s view, mental illness was well present at that point in time.
Mr. Richardson is passionate about his art. He gives paintings away to people he admires and occasionally sells them.
Analysis:
The Board was presented with a joint submission. The Board has no difficulty accepting it. The restriction of liberty was necessary in view of the self-inflicted knife wound, medication adherence concerns, and changes to mood. It was necessary and appropriate.
Mr. Richardson, who is quite intelligent and articulate, is now back in the community. He is doing well. However, the Hospital appropriately monitors medication compliance and mood. Mr. Richardson has a good rapport with his psychiatrist and the forensic team.
The information regarding the Absolute Discharge is not unimportant because the Board wishes to ensure that as liberty increases this time around, potential lapses in risk management extant at the time immediately following the Absolute Discharge are not repeated and that appropriate caution is being exercised in the interest of the safety of the public.
The information regarding the manslaughter was useful to the Board and as much information as may be available about it should be included in any future hospital report.
Significant threat to the public clearly remains, based on the evidence the Board heard, and the history found in the hospital report. The current disposition properly balances the safety of the public and Mr. Richardson’s needs. The Restriction of Liberty was entirely appropriate and justified.
We wish Mr. Richardson well in the upcoming year.
DATED this 11th day of May 2026, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Murray D. Segal
Alternate Chairperson
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Office of the Registrar
Ontario Review Board