Supreme Court will not hear appeal of Calgary man who killed five people

A man walks past the Supreme Court of Canada, Friday, June 16, 2023 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday it will not hear an appeal from Matthew de Grood to acquire more freedoms while under psychiatric care.

De Grood fatally stabbed five people at a Calgary house party in 2014 during a schizophrenic episode.

He was found not criminally responsible (NCR) for the deaths in 2016.

De Grood’s lawyer, Jacqueline Petrie, has been fighting to get him more freedoms while under psychiatric care.

The Review Board denied the request because he still poses a significant risk to public safety.

Petrie asked Alberta’s Court of Appeal to set aside a review board decision to not give him extra privileges, and substitute it with an absolute or conditional discharge.

The appeal was dismissed by Alberta’s top court citing no reviewable errors.

Last year, Petrie applied for the case to be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Thursday, Petrie issued a statement in response to the Court's decision.

"The dismissal of the Leave Application is disappointing because it would have been an opportunity to settle some very important legal issues, the lions-share of which had nothing to do with Mr. de Grood’s current disposition and more about tribunal independence and impartiality, a rather newsworthy topic these days.

"The dismissal does not change our concerns about the Alberta Criminal Code Review Board and its government-selected adjudicators and about the administration of justice in this province. Nor does it change the overwhelming and accepted evidence about Mr. de Grood that he is completely dedicated to remaining well and poses a low risk for ever becoming violent or unwell again.

"As he has told the review board many times, public safety is his paramount concern too."

FAMILIES 'RELIEVED' AT DECISION

Gregg Perras, the father of Kaiti Perras, one of de Grood's victims, said he and the rest of the families are "relieved" at the decision.

"The five families are pleased that the Supreme Court dismissed de Grood’s appeal outright," he wrote in a statement to CTV News.

"The NCR laws may be federal in nature but it is up to each province to enforce those provisions. The Alberta Review Board assessed the evidence and findings of the treatment team back in 2022 and now again in 2023 and agreed with his treatment team that DeGrood still presented a high risk to the public."

Perras said with the Supreme Court's finding that there no reason to reopen the review board's decisions, he hopes all five families "can find some additional peace."

De Grood's next case review is scheduled for next year.