COURT FILE NO.: 21-15588 DATE: 2023/05/29 ONTARIO SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE

BETWEEN:

HIS MAJESTY THE KING – and – Conor Donnelly Accused

Counsel: Marie Dufort for the Crown Michael Davies for the Accused

HEARD: May 15-18, 2023 - oral judgment rendered May 18, 2023

REASONS FOR DECISION

ANNE London-weinstein J.

[1] Conor Arthur Donnelly is a 41 year old man charged with the second degree murder of his mother, Linda Frederick, and the attempted murder of his stepfather, Michel Sabourin. This matter was originally set for a three week trial with judge and jury. He recently re-elected trial by judge alone. This is a somewhat unique case in that the only issue is whether Mr. Donnelly was Not Criminally Responsible by virtue of a mental illness at the time of the index offences. The defence lead a body of evidence including testimony from Dr. Brad Booth, a forensic psychiatrist at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre Forensic Unit. Dr. Booth’s opinion was that Mr. Donnelly suffered from psychosis as a result of schizophrenia, which robbed him of the ability to appreciate that in stabbing his mother and his stepfather, that his actions were morally wrong. I released oral reasons in this matter on May 18, 2023 at the conclusion of the trial. I advised that due to the seriousness of this matter that I would also release written reasons which more fully discussed the evidence which I considered in concluding that Mr. Donnelly was Not Criminally Responsible by virtue of s. 16 of the Criminal Code. These are my reasons.

Facts Surrounding the Index Offences:

[2] The agreed upon statement of facts in this case include that on November 14, 2021, Conor Donnelly attended his parent’s home at 72 Sherway Drive in Ottawa. Mr. Donnelly’s mother, Linda Frederick and his stepfather Michel Sabourin were both home. Mr. Donnelly stabbed his mother multiple times, and she did not survive that attack. Mr. Donnelly stabbed his stepfather multiple times. Mr. Sabourin managed to get out of the house. At 9:21 p.m. he called 911 and indicated that he had been attacked by his son. Members of the Ottawa Police Service responded to the scene and located Mr. Sabourin laying in a pool of blood on the front porch of 70 Sherway Drive.

[3] Ms. Frederick called 911 advising police that her son was attacking her.

[4] Mr. Sabourin advised one of the first officers on the scene that his son Conor did this to him, that he lived at 72 Sherway Drive and expressed concern for his wife.

[5] Officers followed a trail of blood from Mr. Sabourin to 72 Sherway Drive and entered the residence to check on Ms. Frederick. As officers made their way through the house, they could hear Mr. Donnelly coughing. Officers found Ms. Frederick lying on her stomach in the kitchen. She was in a pool of blood; she lacked a pulse, and she was not breathing.

[6] Mr. Donnelly locked himself in the bathroom and threatened to harm officers if they did not leave the house. The audio recording between the police and Mr. Donnelly demonstrated the extent of his psychosis.

[7] While refusing to leave the bathroom, Mr. Donnelly repeatedly expressed the view that the police in attendance were “fake” police. He advised police that his parents were “fake” and not his real parents. He asked the attending officers to get the “real” police.

[8] At approximately 1:45 a.m., Mr. Donnelly was arrested in the garage for murder and attempted murder. He had a knife in his pocket at the time.

Evidence of Mr. Donnelly’s Illness:

[9] Dr. Brad Booth was qualified as an expert in forensic psychiatry. Dr. Booth is a Forensic Psychiatrist practicing at the Integrated Forensic Program at the Royal Ottawa Healthcare Group. He is also an associate professor at the University of Ottawa, Department of Psychiatry. He is well known to the court. His qualification as an expert was uncontested by the Crown. He testified regarding his examination and conclusions relating to Mr. Donnelly. He outlined a history of his illness as follows:

Mr. Donnelly had the onset of psychosis for the first time when he was 23 years old. At the time he had been using marijuana and alcohol. He was hospitalized and discharged on the anti-psychotic medication, Risperidone. He remained symptom free until age 35. At around age 35 he had tapered off his medications entirely over a three to six month period under the supervision of his family physician. He was then off medications for one or two months, with a relapse of his psychosis. He was hospitalized for a month and a half and he was again discharged on 30 mg of the antipsychotic medication Abilify, daily. He remained in remission until the index offence.

[10] When he experienced a psychotic break at age 35, he kept knives in his bedside table as he worried about neighbours breaking in.

[11] From June 16 to July 16, 2021, he was off of work. In September of 2021 he stopped taking his medication. On November 14, 2021, he stabbed his mother to death and repeatedly stabbed his stepfather. On November 19, 2021, Dr. Wood noted him as unfit. On December 23, 2021, Dr Gojer noted him as fit.

[12] Following the offences, and after being found unfit to stand trial, Mr. Donnelly was moved to the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre Forensic Assessment Unit, spending approximately 45 days on a Fitness Restoration Order.

Collateral Material Reviewed by Dr. Booth:

[13] Dr. Booth evaluated Mr. Donnelly at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre Forensic Outpatient Unit on September 29, 2022. In addition to meeting with Mr. Donnelly, Dr. Booth reviewed a wide body of collateral material including:

• The audio/video recording between Det. Chris Benson and Mr. Donnelly;
• Interview with neighbour Octavian Danes on November 16, 2022;
• Video interview of victim Michel Sabourin on December 1, 2021;
• Consultation by Dr. Paul Roy at First Episode Clinic dated May 14, 2006;
• Family physician notes;
• Emergency Department notes;
• Urgent care consultation notes dated December 19, 2021 by Dr. Saul;
• Psychiatric Consultation dated November 9, 2019 by Dr. Si-Ann Woods;
• Psychiatry Emergency Consultation Note by Dr. Sara Archer dated November 19, 2021;
• The fitness report by Dr. Floyd Wood;
• Dr. Julian Gojer’s report dated December 23, 2021;
• Psychiatry Emergency Consultation Note by Dr. Sara Archer dated November 19, 2021;
• Preliminary hearing transcripts including the evidence of Octavian Danes; and
• Audio recording of the police negotiators and Mr. Donnelly taken at 72 Sherway Drive on November 14, 2021.

Statement to Det. Chris Benson:

[14] Dr. Booth reviewed the audio video recording between Mr. Donnelly and Det. Chris Benson. Dr. Booth observed evidence of Mr. Donnelly demonstrating inappropriate affect, and disinhibition. Mr. Donnelly noted “weird things going on at work” with “bad things happening.” He referred to things being dangerous. As the interview progressed and he was pressed by the detective, Mr. Donnelly deteriorated, showing mild disorganization in his thoughts with increasing lability. He appeared euphoric and irritable. His indecision regarding whether to choose a lawyer or not was a symptom of his state of illness at the time of the interview, according to Dr. Booth.

Interview with Octavian Danes:

[15] Octavian Danes was Mr. Donnelly’s neighbour for about seven years. Mr. Donnelly lived in a rooming house with four or five other residents. Mr. Danes indicated that Mr. Donnelly had become more withdrawn over the past two to four weeks heading into the index offence. Previously he was willing to talk. For about a month or so, he appeared to become more sad.

[16] On November 12, 2021, he noted Mr. Donnelly behaving in an odd manner. He believed Mr. Donnelly vandalized his vehicle. Mr. Donnelly showed “strange body language” with no eye contact which was atypical. Mr. Danes and his wife both observed an unsmoked cigarette sitting in front of his home, presumably from Mr. Donnelly.

[17] On Sunday morning, Mr. Danes returned from grocery shopping. He saw Mr. Donnelly place something in his mailbox and confronted him politely asking what he had put in the mailbox saying he did not need anything. Mr. Donnelly “literally snapped.” Mr. Danes explained that he had never seen Mr. Donnelly in this state before. Mr. Donnelly then went on a yelling outburst for about 30 seconds saying he was going to break Mr. Danes’ neck, cut his neck and kill him. Mr. Danes said this was very surprising as it was very unlike Mr. Donnelly to behave in this fashion. He tried to speak with him, but “it was [like] trying to rationalize with an irrational person—he wouldn’t hear anything.”

[18] Mr. Danes believed that Mr. Donnelly may have been under the influence of substances as it “was not his normal state.” However, he had seen him drinking in the past and he had never been like this. He later called police and discovered that Mr. Donnelly had put a wrapped hamburger in the mailbox. He made reference to Mr. Donnelly appearing to converse with two pumpkins and then leaving his apartment before police arrived. After Mr. Danes gave a statement to police, the police went next door and rang the bell for 10 minutes, but there was no answer.

[19] At around 2 p.m., Mr. Danes was installing a surveillance camera that he had bought earlier. Unprovoked, Mr. Donnelly emerged and was “screaming, yelling and cursing” calling Mr. Danes a “loser” and a “clown” but he did not threaten him. He then observed Mr. Donnelly leave at around 4:05 p.m. on Sunday with a backpack and something in his hand. He dropped the object and Mr. Danes noted that it was another wrapped hamburger.

Video/Audio Interview with Michel Sabourin:

[20] Mr. Sabourin confirmed in his interview with police that Mr. Donnelly had experienced two previous psychotic episodes in the past. He had an initial breakdown in his early 20s where he was started on Risperidone.

[21] With medications he was able to function and refrain from what Mr. Sabourin described as crazy rants. He had another episode where police were called as he was in the basement with knives and a hammer. Following this incident, he was put on Abilify, an anti-psychotic medication, but he did not want to continue to take it. He remained off medications for maybe a year. Mr. Sabourin and Ms. Frederick saw him every couple of weeks and knew that he was unwell but were hoping that he would get better.

[22] On the day of the offence, Mr. Donnelly showed up unexpectedly, which was atypical. Mr. Sabourin and Ms. Frederick were watching television when Mr. Donnelly ran across the lawn going directly to the backyard. Mr. Donnelly was going up and down the stairs asking them if they were making too much noise and what was going on. This went on for a while.

[23] At around 9 p.m. Mr. Sabourin asked his wife if she felt safe. She said she did although she had moved all the knives up into a dresser in her room. His wife called 911. As Mr. Donnelly attacked him, he hit Mr. Donnelly over the head with an ornamental bird cage. Mr. Donnelly said, “bleed out motherfucker.” Mr. Sabourin confirmed that Mr. Donnelly had appeared “off” for several months. He explained that he and his wife were aware that Mr. Donnelly had stopped taking his medications.

Consultation by Dr. Paul Roy:

[24] Dr. Roy noted Mr. Donnelly as defensive and dismissive and appeared to be minimizing. He admitted some auditory hallucinations that had worsened as he increased his cannabis usage. He denied any psychosis heading into his admission other than being “a little paranoid.” He agreed that Risperidone had helped his mood and “turned down the background noise.”

[25] At around age 12 he complained of hearing sounds. At around 18, he complained of hearing voices commenting on his behaviour and at 21 he said he was afraid of seeing the devil when he was trying to sleep. She felt he had a grandiose self-complex which might be delusional. Since being an infant, he had always been angry, impulsive and impatient. He had behavioural problems throughout elementary and high school, frequently getting into fights to defend smaller children. He was always advanced in his milestones and despite his behavioural issues did well academically.

[26] As he entered his teen years, Mr. Donnelly became more verbally abusive of his mother and started to abuse alcohol and cannabis. He was expelled from high school. Given his behaviour issues, he was sent to live with his father from the ages of 16 to 18. His father ordered him to leave his home at age 18. His mother could “only tolerate having him in the home for a few weeks” and ejected him from her home to his own apartment. He was threatened with eviction from that apartment for not paying rent or keeping his apartment clean. He had “stark delusions” of being hurt or poisoned in the time before he was hospitalized. Dr. Roy diagnosed a likely schizophrenia near full remission.

Family Physician Notes:

[27] Dr. Booth noted that Mr. Donnelly was seen in September 2018 by his family physician and was taking medications at this time. However, on June 11, 2019, it was noted that he had gradually weaned himself off Risperidone in the past year, taking the last dose about three months previously. He felt the medications made him depressed. He had also gained weight and had low energy. By stopping the medications his mood had improved; he had more energy and was able to gain weight. He had no interest in restarting his medications. On November 9, 2019, he was in the hospital on a Form 1 with psychosis and a fractured toe.

Emergency Department Notes:

[28] Mr. Donnelly presented to hospital on November 9, 2019 accompanied by police. He had been off his medications with increasing delusions and possible manic behaviour. Mr. Donnelly believed that he was being chased by aliens and had possibly been in the woods without shoes. He had entered an office building carrying a knife saying he was being chased by somebody. Police noted that they had found him with a hammer and some knives but that he had cooperated with them.

Urgent Care Consultation:

[29] Mr. Donnelly was hospitalized at the Civic Hospital in 2016 for 11 days and was stabilized on Risperidone. He was followed by Dr. Roy for three years, being discharged from he On Track Program in 2009. He remained stable on Risperidone at a dose of 3 mg which was tapered down over a year due to worries surrounding weight gain, sedation and sexual side effects. He was then hospitalized from November 9, 2019 to December 9, 2019 for psychotic decompensation complicated by substance abuse. He was placed on a 30 mg dose of Abilify and 10 mg of Olanzapine at night.

[30] Symptoms noted included increased irritability, impulsivity and paranoia with auditory and visual hallucinations. Following discharge, he was compliant with his medication.

Psychiatric Consultation by Dr. Si-Ann Woods:

[31] Dr. Woods noted that Mr. Donnelly was brought into the Civic Hospital after his mother had called the crisis line. She confirmed a longstanding problem with psychosis but said that he had been stable for many years while taking Risperidone. He had stopped his medications in January of February of 2019. Over the last year, he had then had episodes of up to five days where he was overly talkative and would engage in rants such as becoming angry with roommates or writing letters to management at work. She had usually been able to talk him down. Heading into the visit with Dr. Woods, his mother was surprised to find that he had quit his job, noting that he is an excellent employee who enjoyed taking extra shifts. She was worried he would be devastated as he was very proud of his work.

[32] His mother noted that more recently, Mr. Donnelly had been feeling his neighbourhood was unsafe, which was unusual for him. They had not been able to reach him by phone for about a week and when they did, he was argumentative and irritable. On Thursday prior to the hospitalization, he was running all night in the woods and buried himself in the snow. She was able to find him and return him home. He admitted that he had used some cocaine that night but denied previous use. He told his mother he had been running from an alien for the last 24 hours and was being hunted by something “big and Red” as he looked in his window, he could identify him by the curvature of his spine. As a result, he had been sleeping with a knife beside him.

[33] Mr. Donnelly told Dr. Woods that he was being chased by a large object that made a loud booming noise. The entity chased him all night, causing him to run through the woods and lose his shoes. He said he was carrying a knife to defend himself form the thing that was chasing him. He was admitted involuntarily by Dr. Wood.

Psychiatry Emergency Consultation Note by Dr. Sara Archer:

[34] Dr. Wood sent Mr. Donnelly on a Form 1 from the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre. He was undergoing an assessment to determine if he was fit to stand trial. He had not eaten in the last four days. He believed that Justin Trudeau had cleared his charges and that an aunt was representing him as a lawyer. He believed he had $100,000 bail posted despite not having access to a phone, internet or other source of information. He had been housed in an individual cell, lunging toward staff at the door if they tried to interact with him. He was yelling threats to staff.

[35] He had to be pepper sprayed in order to transfer him. In the initial interview with Dr. Archer, he indicated that his condiments were poisoned as well as his food. He refused to eat. He believed other food was made of recycled plastic.

[36] He later alleged that both Dr. Archer and the Emergency Room doctor were fake doctors. He was difficult to understand. He was irritable and reactive in his emotional state. He was disorganized in his thinking.

[37] Dr. Archer gave him 150 mg of Acuphase to help him remain safe and discharged him back to the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre.

The Fitness Report of Dr. Wood:

[38] Dr. Wood assessed Mr. Donnelly on November 19, 2021, finding him unfit to stand trial. Dr. Wood noted that Mr. Donnelly denied any previous mental health issues despite clearly documented history including two prior hospitalizations. He was noted to be grandiose. A diagnosis of schizophrenia versus possible bipolar schizoaffective disorder was given. A recommendation was made for restarting his antipsychotic medication.

Report by Dr. Julian Gojer:

[39] Dr. Gojer noted that Mr. Donnelly was admitted at the Forensic Assessment Unit of the ROMHC. During his hospitalization he was treated with Loxapine in a dose of 25 mg three times per day and the anti-psychotic medication Abilify in injection form, including an 800 mg loading dose and 400 mg a month later on December 22, 2021. Initially, Mr. Donnelly appeared very agitated and required close observation. However, he settled reasonably quickly and was compliant with medication. He regained insight and was open to continuing receiving his medications. He felt at that time to be fit to stand trial.

[40] Dr. Booth noted no animus between Mr. Donnelly and his mother and stepfather prior to the incident. Dr. Booth noted that Mr. Donnelly worked at the Queensway Carleton Hospital since September 18, 2012. When Mr. Donnelly had his second psychotic break at age 35, he stopped consuming alcohol and later on only resumed drinking very occasionally. He has not been intoxicated since age 35. He also stopped smoking cannabis at age 35. He was introduced to cocaine before he turned 35 but stopped using after his hospitalization for psychosis.

[41] Dr. Booth ruled out malingering or intentional exaggeration in his assessment of Mr. Donnelly’s mental state.

Mr. Donnelly’s Account of the Index Offences:

[42] Mr. Donnelly had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and first hospitalized at age 23. He took a leave from work from June 15, 2021 to August 2, 2021 related to the stress of working full time and an also heavier than usual workload.

[43] He went off of his medications. In early September he felt he could hear his co-workers saying negative things about him. He heard Jordan say “Let’s not go out with Conor. He doesn’t drink anymore.” He heard them say, “he is an idiot.” He began to avoid his colleagues at work.

[44] He began to hear electronic sounds; like a large robot making a metallic sound. The sounds followed him as he walked. He thought his two female housemates were poisoning him. He thought his neighbours were doing incantations and sending their teenagers over to break in on him. He believed he observed an invisible image, similar to the image of the alien from the movie Predator. He would see apparitions of children playing in the backyard of his Romanian neighbours. He felt the neighbourhood might be haunted.

[45] He said he did not think to restart his medications as he was lost in the hallucinations. He became tearful and said perhaps he should have restarted his medications, but it was too late.

[46] He was sleeping with knives in his bed. At around 4 p.m. he decided to go to his parents’ home to sleep. He showed up without notice. His mom saw him at about 6 p.m. standing on the porch smoking a cigarette. He said he was exhausted as weird things were going on in his neighbourhood. He said he was fighting with his roommates. He tried to sleep at around 7 p.m. as he was lying on the couch. He heard Mr. Sabourin say okay why is he here? He heard someone say: “Now is our chance when he wakes up get him something to eat we will get him we will do it this the time pour the whole bottle in.”

[47] He became involved in an altercation with his parents and his mother ran for the phone to call police. His mother told him she loved him. He told his mother that she was not his real mother and that she was evil. He believed his parents were trying to poison him. He did not recall much else until the police arrived. He described the police as fake police. He had a knife in his back pocket as he was paranoid somebody was going to harm him. He had actually been bringing it to work over the prior two to three weeks since he had been hearing the sound of the robot machine. He recalls seeing the judge in court. He thought the lawyer and the judge were fake. He was transferred for fitness restoration by Dr. Gojer.

[48] Mr. Donnelly was tearful when he talked about what he had done and expressed significant remorse.

Diagnosis at the Time of the Offence:

[49] Dr. Booth diagnosed Mr. Donnelly with schizophrenia in acute psychosis at the time of the offence. It was Dr. Booth’s psychiatric opinion that at the time of the index offence Mr. Donnelly was suffering from a disease of the mind, a relapse of psychosis as part of his premorbid schizophrenia. There was evidence of similar psychotic episodes in the past including possibly having weapons to protect himself. Heading into the offences he was observed to be increasingly unwell, including demonstrating odd behaviour on the day of the offences. At the time of the offences, he expressed belief that his parents and police were fake and not real. He was so unwell that Dr. Booth noted he required a 45 day hospitalization in order to be returned to a state of fitness, such that he could proceed with the court proceedings.

[50] Dr. Booth noted that it is the nature of schizophrenia that most people will relapse within a short time of being off their medications, particularly in the context of increased stress.

[51] Dr. Booth opined that Mr. Donnelly was floridly psychotic at the time of the offences, however he likely knew the nature and quality of his actions. Dr. Booth explained that what he meant by Mr. Donnelly knowing the nature and quality of his actions was that Mr. Donnelly understood that wielding the knife against his parents, would harm them, including causing lethal harm. However, Dr. Booth was firmly of the view that Mr. Donnelly’s schizophrenia and psychotic symptoms robbed him of the ability for rational thought such that he was not able to know the wrongfulness of killing his mother and attempting to kill his stepfather.

[52] Dr. Booth based this opinion on a number of factors, including but not limited to:

• The lack of animus existing between Mr. Donnelly and his parents;
• The expression of delusional ideas by Mr. Donnelly, which in his view, justified needing to save his life from potential harm. His belief in delusional ideas demonstrated that he lacked a rational perception of reality and therefore lacked the ability to evaluate the wrongfulness of his actions;
• He believed people were trying to poison and kill him;
• He believed that his mother and stepfather were not real but were talking about methods of killing him; and
• He had carried a knife to protect himself under the belief that he was in mortal danger.

[53] Dr. Booth noted a pattern of behaviour in Mr. Donnelly’s previous psychosis which was repeated. When he ceased taking his medications, he would lapse into psychosis. That is what happened in this case. He has had a pattern of belief that he is being persecuted by others and that they are trying to poison him, or otherwise kill him. He has had delusions of monsters trying to kill him, including the robot. He has a pattern of preoccupation with having knives for protection when he becomes unwell.

[54] It is an agreed fact in this case that Mr. Donnelly stabbed his mother multiple times and stabbed his stepfather, Michel Sabourin, multiple times. Ms. Frederick did not survive. Mr. Sabourin was fortunate to survive as his injuries were life threatening.

[55] I found as a fact that Mr. Donnelly caused the death of his mother by repeatedly stabbing her. I found as a fact that Mr. Donnelly repeatedly stabbed Michel Sabourin. I concluded that Mr. Donnelly committed the acts of which he is charged. However, I concluded that Mr. Donnelly was incapable of knowing that killing his mother and attempting to kill his stepfather was wrong.

[56] Section 16(1) of the Criminal Code reads: No person is criminally responsible for an act committed or an omission made while suffering from a mental disorder that rendered the person incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the act or omission or of knowing that it was wrong.

[57] I accepted the evidence of Dr. Booth, and the concurring opinion of Dr. Joel Watts, who was retained by the Crown, that Mr. Donnelly was incapable of knowing that killing his mother and attempting to kill his stepfather was wrong. I found as a fact that Mr. Donnelly was suffering from a delusion that his parents were trying to kill him, and he therefore was incapable of recognizing that attacking his parents was wrong.

[58] I concluded that the defence has met its burden in establishing that Mr. Donnelly was suffering from a mental disorder at the time he committed these acts and is therefore exempt from criminal responsibility.

[59] My conclusion in this case is that Mr. Donnelly is not criminally responsible for these acts, on account of mental disorder. I find that, as Dr. Booth testified, while Mr. Donnelly knew that a knife would be injurious and even lethal when applied to his parents, he was unable to appreciate that attacking them was wrong, due to the fact that he believed they were trying to kill him, as a result of his psychosis. As a result, he is not criminally responsible for those acts by virtue of s. 16(1) of the Criminal Code.

Anne London-Weinstein J. Released: May 29, 2023