Mental state ‘stable’ for father who killed kids, B.C. review board says

It said he has been gradually granted more access to the community since 2019, and that most recently he has been living at a staffed supportive-living environment where he is able to stay in his own cottage.

The board said staying in the same program, or something similar, is appropriate to manage Schoenborn’s risks and needs.

“The structure and supervised environment of (the program), which includes unstaffed cottages, was a significant factor in the board’s decision to order a conditional discharge,” the decision said.

“(The program) and its staff offer highly specialized care, monitoring and 24-7 supervision.”

The board was told Schoenborn, who legally changed his name to Ken John Johnson, has spent most of his time on the program’s grounds, socializing with other patients, watching television, and participating in mandatory programming and community outings like going to the grocery store and library.

“He has not engaged in broader community activities, largely due to anxiety about being recognized and, to a lesser extent, due to poor motivation,” it said.

The decision notes that during the hearing, his defence counsel said Schoenborn wanted to be referred to by his original name.

Schoenborn was found not criminally responsible for the first-degree murders of his three children — five-year-old Cordon, eight-year-old Max and 10-year-old Kaitlynne — at their home in Merritt, B.C., in 2008.

The board stopped short of granting him an absolute discharge, pointing to an expert report that says without oversight in the community he would likely have no connections, raising the risk of him stopping treatment and relapsing.

Along with having to live under supervision, Schoenborn cannot possess a firearm or weapon, or use alcohol, cannabis or prohibited drugs, and he must submit to alcohol and drug testing.

A psychiatric report said Schoenborn’s long-term plans have been to live in an apartment and get a cat, and that he said he is not interested in an intimate relationship.

Schoenborn has spent most of his time since being arrested at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam, B.C.

The board’s written decision notes that lawyers for both the attorney general and the director of the forensic hospital argued that the evidence “continues to establish that Mr. Schoenborn meets the threshold of significant threat so as to warrant the continued involvement of forensic services in Mr. Schoenborn’s life and board oversight.”

The written decision said the crimes in question are “of the utmost seriousness.”

“The depth of anguish and heartbreak experienced by the victims’ family and loved ones is immeasurable and cannot be overstated,” it said.

A representative for the family of Schoenborn’s victims has called the decision to grant the condition discharge “baffling.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 8, 2026.

— By Ashley Joannou in Vancouver

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Mental state ‘stable’ for father who killed kids, B.C. review board says

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