A man who carried out a stabbing attack on three people during a Vancouver Chinatown festival has been deemed not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder, as ruled by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Eric Gottardi. The court emphasized that individuals should not be convicted for crimes when affected by mental illness.
During the trial, it was revealed that Blair Donnelly had sought a divine sign to prevent the stabbings in September 2023, but proceeded with the attack as he believed it was God’s will. Justice Gottardi noted that Donnelly was unable to make a rational decision to commit the crime.
Donnelly’s defense lawyer stated that he was deeply influenced by the belief that God instructed him to stab people, while the Crown argued that he was aware of the wrongfulness of his actions at the time.
Following the ruling, Donnelly’s case will be reviewed by the B.C. Review Board, responsible for individuals found not criminally responsible. A determination on his case is expected within 90 days.
The trial also revealed that Donnelly was on unsupervised leave from the B.C. Forensic Psychiatric Hospital on the day of the incident. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, his psychiatrist testified that he now exhibits symptoms of “schizoaffective disorder bipolar type,” characterized by religious delusions.
Notably, Donnelly had previously been found not criminally responsible for the death of his daughter in 2006 and for attacking another psychiatric patient in 2017.