A man who was found not criminally responsible for killing a stranger in an unprovoked attack in Orillia is “a significant threat to the safety of the public,” an Ontario Review Board panel was told Tuesday.
In a joint submission supported by the Crown and defence lawyers, the clinical team recommended that Justice Snache remain in high-secure provincial forensic programs at the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care in Penetanguishene.
Earlier this year, a Barrie court heard the Severn Township man was directed by voices in his head telling him to kill or be killed when he encountered 34-year-old Derek Simmerson, who happened to be walking home along Coldwater Road in Orillia from his father’s place, on Nov. 19, 2020.
Snache, who was 19 at the time of the attack, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder earlier this year. But he agreed to the admitted statement of facts read into the court by the Crown attorney. The judge then found Snache guilty.
He was subsequently declared not criminally responsible following a request from the defence that wasn’t challenged by the Crown.
At Tuesday’s hearing conducted through video links, psychiatrist Dr. Bill Komar said Snache has been taking medication to control the voices in his head and hallucinations, noting work to find the right balance continues.
While he said Snache has been lacking some insight and has had challenges, Komar described a positive situation which has allowed Snache wider access to Waypoint where he is being held.
“His behaviour has been good ... he’s stable but there’s some fluctuation,” Komar told the five-member panel.
Snache has also taken advantage of Indigenous services, is studying the Ojibway language and has a rapport with the spiritual healer, Komar explained.
The psychiatrist was also positive about Snache finally getting attention for mental illness which eluded him despite his repeated attempts to get help before the attack.
Court had earlier heard that Snache was apprehended under the Mental Health Act on Feb. 22, 2019 after an episode on a train when his odd behaviour led train staff to consider him suicidal. He was held overnight in an Ottawa hospital, but there was no diagnosis of psychosis.
A year later, he reported having audible hallucinations, seeking help at Toronto Western Hospital where he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and prescribed medication.
He also went to hospitals in Brampton, Kitchener and Sarnia when the symptoms continued, finally being referred to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.
Snache, the judge said, was homeless and transitory during the height of the pandemic.
At the time of the killing, Snache’s capacity of appreciating his moral and legal actions was significantly impaired by his psychotic state, the court found.
The mental health system, the hearing was told on Tuesday, failed Snache, who was only able to get the help he needed after the fatal attack which resulted in Derek Simmerson’s death.
Jessica Simmerson read out a victim impact statement for her spouse, Devon, who was unable to attend.
“Not a day passes by that I don’t think about my brother,” he wrote.
But he is also fearful that Snache will one day be released.
“We’ve been given a life sentence,” his father, Robert Simmerson, told the hearing.
Jessica Simmerson also read a redacted version of her father-in-law’s victim impact statement in which he said he has paid out $12,000 in funeral-related expenses related to his son. And although there has been some help from the church community, there hasn’t yet been a burial.
“Mr. Snache is remorseful and is very sorry for the loss you suffered,” Snache’s lawyer, Anita Szigeti, told him.
The review board panel is expected to issue a written decision.
