Child-killer was target of patients' murder plot: review board testimony

Patients hatch murder plot against child killer Officials say patients at a local psychiatric facility were planning to kill Allan Schoenborn before their plot was foiled.

Child-killer Allan Schoenborn was himself targeted in a plot to kill him by two fellow patients, according to testimony at a B.C. Review Board hearing.

The plot was discovered and stopped by staff, who found correspondence between the patients that outlined the plan.

"Mr. Schoenborn was nearly assaulted by two co-patients and there have been significant threats to his safety," said Schoenborn's psychiatrist, Dr. Marcel Hediger, in testimony at the Forensic Pyschiatric Hospital at Colony Farm.

"The co-patients had agreed in writing to harm or potentially kill Mr. Schoenborn. Fortunately we intercepted this. The co-patients wanted access to the grounds (where Schoenborn resided)," he said.

Schoenborn is being held at Colony Farm. He’s been found not criminally responsible in the deaths of his three children in Merritt in 2008.

Schoenborn isn’t the only prisoner to be targeted in B.C. Jeremy Philips was killed by his cellmate in Agassiz in 2010 by convicted serial killer Michael Wayne McGray.

Mike Clarke, the uncle of the three children, attended the hearing. He said even after all that’s happened, he doesn’t wish the same on Schoenborn.

"I don’t wish him any harm, personally. I wish he’d realize what he’s done and how he’s changed my family – our family," he said.

Dave Teixeira, a family friend, agreed.

"They’re not looking for vengeance. They’re not looking for retribution. They’re looking for Allan Schoenborn to get healthy and stay in this facility until that time," he said.

Some details of the plan came out during a hearing into Schoenborn’s application for mandatory "staff-supported community outings."

Right now, Schoenborn could be escorted out of the hospital at the discretion of the hospital director, though that hasn’t happened yet. Crown prosecutors told the hearing they plan to ask for that privilege to be removed.

Schoenborn’s condition at the hospital has improved, said Hediger, as he is taking his medication and his delusions are under control.

However, he is still quick to anger and paranoid – a personality trait rather than a symptom of a disorder, Hediger said.

"The education from his father was: don’t be weak, don’t back down and confrontation is a good strategy to be used."

The patient remains unpredictable in his reaction to perceived slights, which, though not violent, would prove to be difficult to manage if he met a member of the public who expressed any displeasure at Schoenborn's presence, he said.

"If Mr. Schoenborn is in the community, with staff, and he is recognized, and there is negative reaction, I don’t have confidence that Mr. Schoenborn would manage that appropriately," he said.