Allan Dwayne Schoenborn is shown in an undated RCMP handout photo.The Canadian Press
A B.C. Supreme Court justice threatened to kick Allan Schoenborn out of his own murder trial on Thursday after Mr. Schoenborn began heckling the Crown counsel delivering final arguments in the case.
Justice Robert Powers warned Mr. Schoenborn he would have to watch the final phase of the trial on closed circuit TV if he didn't stop heckling Crown counsel Glenn Kelt.
The judge's comments came after Mr. Schoenborn loudly said he did not murder his three young children at their home in Merritt in April, 2008, to punish his estranged wife, Darcie Clarke, as the Crown has suggested.
"It was to put the kids [somewhere]safe," said Mr. Schoenborn, who has testified that he stabbed, smothered and strangled the children, aged five to 10, because he feared they were being sexually abused and at risk of a life of humiliation. There has been no credible evidence to confirm his fears.
The defence case hinges on the position that Mr. Schoenborn is not guilty due to a mental disorder - delusional disorder or schizophrenia - so should be sent to a hospital. The Crown says he knew what he was doing, and killed the children because Ms. Clarke rejected his bid for a reunion and that the 41-year-old Vancouver roofer feared losing his family, who had moved to Merritt in the year before the killings.
Ms. Clarke found the children's remains when she came home from her mother's nearby residence the morning after she left them with their father, prompting a manhunt for Mr. Schoenborn that ended 10 days later when he was found wandering in the woods. The trial has heard that Mr. Schoenborn attempted suicide immediately after the killings,while in the wilderness.
In his closing arguments, Mr. Kelt said there was no proof, beyond Mr. Schoenborn's claims, of the alleged delusions that prompted the murders, because Mr. Schoenborn did not discuss his concerns with anyone.
He told Justice Power, who is hearing the case without a jury, that Mr. Schoenborn's testimony and claims about his motives were self justification.
"It's very likely he believes what he says but he needs to justify to himself that the destruction of his children had some noble foundation," said Mr Kelt.
Mr. Kelt said it appears Mr Schoenborn planned and executed the killings, varying his tactics for the sake of efficiency. He stabbed his daughter, Kaitlynne, as she was in bed, then moved to another room to smother and strangle eight-year-old Max and five-year-old Cordon in their beds.
"It's clear he thought about what he was going to do and how he was going to do it," said Mr. Kelt, noting that Mr. Schoenborn's testimony that the murders did not go as quietly as he expected they would suggested pre-planning.
The trial began in October with acceptance on both sides that Mr. Schoenborn killed the children. The only point of dispute has been Mr. Schoenborn's mental state.
During Mr. Kelt's remarks, Mr. Schoenborn, silent and sitting slumped earlier in the day, raised his head for the first time and became more and more visibly agitated.
When Mr. Kelt suggested the accused reconstructed his memory of events, Mr. Schoenborn raised his left arm, pulled down the sleeve of his shirt and barked "Reconstruct that," displaying the scars from a reported suicide attempt after killing the children.
Justice Powers finally told Mr. Schoenborn to be quiet. "If you keep interrupting, I'll arrange for you to watch on TV from another room," Justice Powers said as the sole court sheriff stood and approached the defendants' box.
Mr. Schoenborn calmed down, but made inaudible, angry remarks to Mr. Kelt as he was led out of the court on an afternoon break and at the end of the day.
Earlier, Mr. Schoenborn's lawyer said his client was so mentally ill when he killed the children that the actions seemed to him to be a reasonable thing to do.
"Nobody else was living on his planet. Nobody else was seeing what he perceived reality to be," Peter Wilson said.
"Mr. Schoenborn believed it was right, according to the ordinary morals of society, to kill his children in the circumstances he believed existed at the time," Mr. Wilson said.
"The psychotic illness from which Mr. Schoenborn clearly suffers is an illness that clearly affects the content of his thoughts, but it also affects his ability to think rationally."
Mr. Schoenborn has frequently piped up in court to comment on aspects of the proceedings, even heckling a witness on one occasion. But as his trial reached a key phase, he was silent.
Mr. Wilson cited psychiatric evidence in the trial, being heard by Justice Robert Power without a jury, that Mr. Schoenborn may have been suffering delusions starting in November, 2007 though, referring to a history of mental illness spanning 23 years, he noted: "This isn't just someone who became ill in April [2008]"
Mr. Wilson reminded the court of evidence that Mr. Schoenborn was a loving parent reluctant to even physically discipline his kids. The trial has heard the only thing they could do to upset him was to mistreat each other. "He was a good father and he loved his kids," said Mr. Wilson.