Shock and anger are being felt across the province after the B.C. Review Board has granted child-killer Allan Schoenborn a conditional discharge.
He has to follow more than a dozen conditions, but none of them include anything about staying away from areas where children may be, parks, playgrounds, schools, or girls and women.
The discharge has Schoenborn living at a supervised residence in Vancouver, but when he’s out in public, he’s allowed to be on his own.
Dave Teixeira speaks for the victim’s family and admits to 1130 NewsRadio Vancouver he’s disappointed but not shocked.
“The next step would be an absolute discharge, which means he’ll have no conditions, the Review Board is no longer overseeing his day-to-day actions, and he’s basically a free citizen once again.”
We asked why a public warning wasn’t issued if he’s living outside of the hospital.
“According to our justice system, Allan Schoenborn did not murder his three children. He killed his three children. He is not a criminal, he’s a patient. So therefore, those sorts of warnings just do not come out. In fact, should there ever be a need to locate him, they may not actually release a recent photo of him.”
“They may release a sketch or an older photo, again, because he’s a patient, not a criminal. It is very concerning, and on top of that, both Crown Counsel and the hospital agreed during the hearing earlier this week that he continues to be a threat to public safety, so it’s baffling why they would allow this to happen.”
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He feels the overall health care and justice systems are broken.
“What we’ve seen over the last few years is an ideological bent to having folks get out of the forensic hospital in advance of their treatment actually being completed,” he said.
“We’ve seen this now with Allan Schoenborn on his now conditional discharge. We’ve now seen this Blair Donnelly, who, in 2023, was released on day passes and stabbed three people in Chinatown. And since British Columbia only has one forensic hospital, the only way to get more beds available is to push people out of the hospital before they’re ready.”
“…He continues to be a threat to public safety, so it’s baffling why they would allow this to happen.”
Because a recent photo of Schoenborn hasn’t surfaced, Teixeira warns people may not know they’re interacting with Schoenborn.
“The way he looks now, years later after that infamous photo that often gets used in the press, he’s probably 100 to 120 pounds heavier, more balding, and older, so most folks would not realize he’s there, until they possibly interact with him,” he said.
“This is a man who has a lifelong history of violence, does not like to be questioned. He is a narcissist, so if you have a minor disagreement with Schoenborn in public, you will quickly find out the violent nature of this person, and that’s regrettable.”
Teixeira is clear that not every person who goes through the mental health system in this province is violent, but feels people like Schoenborn have “stigmatized” it.
“And the fact that we do not have a sustainable, strong foundation on our health system creates the problem. So, it’s this perpetual misery machine that’s going on… and I promise you we’re going to be talking about him in the next couple of years where he’s harmed other people.”
And that’s a legitimate concern, says Teixeira.
“He has not seen a psychologist in six months because of shortages. He has not been tested for alcohol use in years. Because he’s been in a hospital setting and now that he’s been in a more residential setting and more out in the community, he’s going to have leanings towards his greater demons. He’s more evil and he is ill and he’s not looking to get better, he’s just looking to get out.”
Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West says he’s outraged and thinks this is part of a “slippery slope” that normalizes someone like Schoenborn, being allowed out.
“I feel sick to my stomach,” West said.
“It makes me want to vomit. And my brain can’t understand it. It just boggles my mind, and it’s yet another example of a system that is badly, badly broken and prioritizes offenders over victims and over public safety.”
He says he plans to take his concerns about the health-care, mental health, and justice systems to the provincial government and doesn’t understand why the rights of a man like Schoenborn are seemingly put above those of the general public.
“As a father, I can’t even start to get my head wrapped around this. This is clearly a deranged, sick, sick, sick individual. And like it or not, there are some people in our society who can not and should not be free to be out and about, and Allan Schoenborn is one of those people. There is nothing, not one thing, which suggests that this is someone who should be granted more freedom.”
West thinks Schoenborn will eventually push for a full discharge.
“This won’t be the end of it. He’s been after conditional discharge for a long time. This is a step in a process that could lead to him getting a full discharge at some point. This is a symptom of a system that is completely ass-backwards.”
“This won’t be the end of it. He’s been after conditional discharge for a long time.”
Schoenborn legally changed his name to Ken John Johnson in 2021, which forced the B.C. government to pass legislation preventing those convicted of serious crimes from changing their names.
“Whenever something happens with Allan Schoenborn that comes into public attention, like when he was allowed to change his name, then all of a sudden, the province says, ‘Oh yeah, don’t worry, we’re on it. We’re doing things.’ And then there’s no follow-through, and things stay the same, and that, to me, is what has happened here again.”
West can’t imagine how parents are feeling knowing he’s out there. He’s calling for members of the Review Board panel to be held accountable.
“It horrifies me. It leads me to have zero confidence in our system. The fact the Review Board doesn’t even place, what I would consider, the absolute bare minimum… on a person who killed his own children and then has continued to be threatening and violate previous conditions — I mean, how do you even comprehend that?” West said.
“I think people are sick and tired of hearing these stories over and over again and then have a bunch of politicians saying, ‘Don’t worry, it’s going to change.’ And then no changes happen, and then it happens again. It’s just wash, cycle, repeat. “
Schoenborn was convicted but found not criminally responsible for killing his three children, aged five, eight, and 10, at their Merrit home in 2008.
This discharge will be up for review in one year.