CONTENT WARNING: The content in this article may be distressing for some people. Please read with caution.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The name of the person in this article has been omitted because she was found not criminally responsible.
A woman from Kitchener has received an absolute discharge after being involved in the second-degree murder of her infant son back in 2020.
The tragic event occurred on Aug. 9 at her home in Kitchener when the woman, who was having a psychotic episode and hearing voices, stabbed her baby son multiple times, leading to his death.
She was taken into custody but was later found not criminally responsible “on account of mental disorder” in April 2021.
“At the time of her arrest, she was highly psychotic, experiencing command auditory hallucinations commanding her to sacrifice her child,” a report reads.
Court documents released in April this year indicate that the woman had struggled with mental health issues and substance abuse since she was young, including a hospital admission in 2012.
Her current diagnoses include schizoaffective disorder, a long-term mental health condition that can cause hallucinations, delusions, depression, and mania. Since 2023, she has been living with her mother in Kitchener and is receiving support from a forensic psychologist.
An Ontario Review Board panel met in March to decide if the woman still posed a significant risk to public safety.
During the hearing, the board noted that she had come to understand that she would need to take medication for life and would avoid using substances. They added that she has “no violent ideation or significant behavioural instability.”
<p. As a result of the hearing, she was granted an absolute discharge; this means she’s been found guilty without any penalty or fine and will have no criminal record.
The board congratulated the woman on her commitment to improving herself and wished her well moving forward.
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