Crown to apply to have Matthew de Grood deemed “high-risk”

“High-risk” is a term that could soon apply to Matthew de Grood if the Crown gets its way.

Edmonton-based lawyer Neil Wiberg is applying to have de Grood found high-risk after he was found not criminally responsible for killing five young people at a Brentwood house party.

It was the early morning hours of April 15th, 2014 when de Grood murdered Zackariah Rathwell, Josh Hunter, Jordan Segura Lawrence Hong and Kaiti Perras.

“There is a proposal called high-risk NCR and for ones that we consider to be of a high-risk variety, there are special rules that would come in,” Wiberg said. “For example, if the Board of Review is considering giving an absolute discharge or a conditional discharge into the community, that would have to go before a judge before it can be approved.”

Wiberg said if they’re successful, then it’s possible hearings would be held every three years instead of on an annual basis.

“There’s other types of evidence that has to be presented, that would come about the first week of the review,” Wiberg said.

“I’ll be looking at that material first when it comes out, I imagine it’ll have to be in August because there is 90 days for the first Board of Review hearing, when that comes out in August, I’ll take a look at that and then a determination will be made if we proceed.”

“If there wasn’t a high-risk designation, the Board of Review would be able to make some that decision (in regards to his freedom) but if there is a high-risk designation it would have to go before a judge and there would be arguments made.”

Wiberg said this is one of the most serious crimes you can commit, coming about very quickly and he wasn’t on drugs or alcohol, so it leads towards high-risk status.

“I’ve never had five murders before and I’ve never had a case where it’s five outstanding people like that,” he said. “I thought Justice Macklin put it very well at the end when he talked about the untapped potential, so not only do you have the loved ones missing a loved ones for the rest of their lives, the friends missing these people the rest of their lives but society has been deprived of their contributions.”

He said they’ve gone above and beyond in terms of achieving a fair trial for de Grood.

All three experts were also employed by Alberta Health and calls them some of the most experienced experts in Alberta.

“He had been resident of the SAFPC for a number of months, we had him moved to Edmonton to be assessed by Edmonton doctors who had no prior dealings with him.”

It was clearly an emotional moment in the court for defence lawyer Allan Fay who was in tears as he read his client’s letter in open court.

“This whole process has been difficult on everyone involved with it,” Fay said. “I had been dealing with Matthew since this happened, I’m sad for him, I’m sad for the victims and their families.”

“It’s a sad thing, Matthew had asked me to read a statement to express his deep sorrow at what happened and his sadness and his regret for what happened, he feels the sorrow that the families are feeling as well and he wanted that to be known.”

“I couldn’t have asked for more,” Fay added. “Justice Macklin very accurately summarized the statements and opinions of the experts in this matter and reached the conclusion that I thought was the appropriate one.”

Fay said de Grood’s future is still unclear, as he’ll remain in a psychiatric centre until the Alberta Review Board deems he can be released.

“I hope there would be a gradual reintegration into society but if they don’t reach that position he could spend the rest of his life in custody,” he said.

The long-time defence lawyer says he’s concerned about the application and feels after the Alberta Review Board sees him in 90 days, that won’t be a necessary step.

“We had three experts…they all concluded the same thing, that at the time this occurred he was mentally ill to the point that he did not appreciate the wrongness of what he was doing,” Fay said.

Fay added he’ll carry on with de Grood in one capacity or another, but it’s still unclear if he’ll help him through the review process.

“He’s relieved, the sadness will stay with him but he’s looking forward to trying to do the things he pledged to do in his statement,” Fay said.

“He made that pledge because that’s what he truly feels, he’s been under care for the last two plus years and has been receiving medication to help him manage his psychiatric symptoms, his delusions and has reached a point where he can truly appreciate reality.”