Killer Gregory Despres's transfer to Ontario rejected by New Brunswick
Review board approved a transfer at hearing in March but only if provincial government agreed
Relatives of an elderly Minto couple who died violently in 2005 are relieved the man who killed them won't be transferred out of province after all.
At a hearing in March, a New Brunswick review board recommended Gregory Despres be transferred to a mental health hospital in Ontario.
In 2008, a judge found Despres, 36, killed his neighbours Fred Fulton, 74, and Verna Decarie, 70, but he ruled the Minto man wasn't criminally responsible for the stabbing deaths because he was suffering from delusions stemming from paranoid schizophrenia.
Since then, Despres has been held at the Shepody Healing Centre at Dorchester Penitentiary.
Province disagreed
The three-member board agreed to the transfer to Ontario but said it was just a recommendation, and the Attorney General's Office in New Brunswick would have to agree.
The Attorney General's Office subsequently opposed the transfer, and the review board later ruled to reject Despres's application.
Sandra Martin, Verna Decarie's daughter, who lives in Waterville, N.S., said she and family members are relieved.
"I'm super excited that he's staying in New Brunswick," she said. "And, you know, travelling from Nova Scotia to New Brunswick, you know, puts me out a little bit, but Ontario would have killed me."
Because of the finding that Despres was not criminally responsible, his case comes before the review board at regular intervals, or about every two years.
An emailed statement Wednesday from Robert Duguay, a spokesperson for the Office of the Attorney General, said the rights of the victims had to be weighed against Despres's request to be transferred.
The statement pointed out that the victims are "active participants" in the review board process, and if Despres were to be transferred, it would make it "much more difficult" for them to attend the hearings and have their voices heard.
"If Mr. Despres was moved to another province, this would effectively hamper the rights of the victims, as attendance at the hearings would be cost-prohibitive."
Would be hard to attend hearings
At the hearing in March, Despres's psychiatrist, Dr. Louis Theriault, said Despres is compliant and takes his medication.
But he refuses to talk about what happened or take part in treatment programs, Theriault said.
Theriault said a change in atmosphere might be beneficial.
The closest high-security psychiatric facility where English is spoken is the Waypoint Health Centre for Mental Health in Penetanguishene, Ont.
In arguing against moving Despres to Ontario, the province said the Criminal Code makes it clear such transfers have to be connected to the person's reintegration and treatment.
"Mr. Despres has no ties to the province of Ontario," the New Brunswick government said. "His only family connections are in Minto. Additionally, there is no evidence that a move to another jurisdiction will provide any further rehabilitation."
Martin said her family members live in different places, so travelling to Moncton for the review board hearings is a challenge.
But keeping Despres in New Brunswick means she'll be able to continue reading victim impact statements in person, she said.
"Just so they know that it still hurts."
The next review board hearing is scheduled for March 2021.