A BC Review Board hearing for convicted child killer Allan Schoenborn had to unexpectedly adjourn Wednesday after the man’s lawyer quit.
The hearing was being held to decide whether Schoenborn should be given more freedom from the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam.
Schoenborn has been incarcerated at the facility since 2010, after he was found not criminally responsible for killing his three children in Merritt.
There were some tense moments during Wednesday’s hearing culminating in Schoenborn’s lawyer saying he couldn’t represent his client any longer after some apparent conflicts with the board’s chair.
Schoenborn told the review board he wanted to represent himself, but the board has expressed some concerns about that decision.
Instead of continuing the hearing, members decided to adjourn until Schoenborn can find a new lawyer, which they’ve instructed him to do within a week.
In the past, he has been allowed unescorted overnight visits at the hospital director’s discretion for periods of up to 28 days.
On social media platform X, Dave Teixeira, a spokesperson for the victims’ family, called the delay “ridiculous.”
“Today, we saw a review board that actually mentioned the victims and said the victims’ families are here today and the hearing should continue,” he said.
Teixeira says he was hoping the outcome of Wednesday’s hearing would be Schoenborn’s privileges being revoked until a hearing next year.
Moments before the hearing ended, Schoenborn asked if he could have longer than a week to find his new lawyer, but the board chair declined, saying it has already been two years since the man’s last review.
Schoenborn will remain under his current privileges until the hearing reconvenes.