CALGARY -- The Alberta Review Board has revoked some of Matthew de Grood's privileges after determining that the man found not criminally responsible for five deaths continues to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public.
In its decision, the board stated that de Grood should not be granted an absolute discharge as "his illness can have catastrophic consequences to the safety of the public should he relapse and decompensate."
A recommendation from de Grood's treatment team to relocate him to an approved group home with around-the-clock supervision in the Edmonton area — a privilege previously approved in 2019 but never utilized by de Grood — was denied by the board. The decision cited the fact non-medical group home staff are not clinically trained to the levels of hospital staff and necessary intervention may prove less timely.
De Grood had been permitted to spend up to three days and two nights in Edmonton away from the Alberta Hospital under the supervision of a responsible adult. In its decision that went into effect on Sept. 8, the board approved the recommendation despite the fact that two of the five board members wanted the privilege reduced to a maximum of two days and one night away from the approved facility.
The board says de Grood's gradual re-integration into the community was interrupted with the curtailing of privileges in March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent restrictions placed on patients at the hospital.
De Grood has been medication-compliant to address his schizophrenia since his admission but his treatment team does not know how he would react to the transition to a group home.
The Calgarian had been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of five people at a house party in northwest Calgary on April 15, 2014 but was found not criminally responsible in May 2016 due to a mental disorder.
Correction:
The original version of this story indicated that the board had reduced de Grood's outings to a maximum of two days and one night in the Edmonton area. That was the recommendation of two of the five board members, who were outvoted. The maximum duration of his outings has been set at three days and two nights.
