Fatally stabbed young people: Some main events in the case of Matthew de Grood

CALGARY – Matthew de Grood is facing an Alberta Review Board hearing to determine whether he should receive any privileges while in the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre. In May, de Grood was found not criminally responsible in the stabbing deaths of five young people at a Calgary house party in2014.

Here’s a timeline of events in the case:

April 15, 2014: Police respond to a home in northwest Calgary at 1:20 a.m. They find three young men dead. A woman found with stab wounds inside the home and a fourth man on the front lawn are rushed to hospital but die. Police Chief Rick Hanson later that day confirms a suspect has been arrested a few blocks away from the scene and has been taken to hospital with minor injuries. Matthew de Grood, an invited guest at the party, is charged with five counts of first-degree murder.

April 21, 2014: Funerals are held for three of the victims. Jordan Segura, 22, was a religious studies student at the University of Calgary. Kaitlin Perras, 23, is remembered as a dancer, sister and artist. Twenty-three-year old Josh Hunter, along with victim Zackariah Rathwell, was a member of the band Zackariah and the Prophets.

April 22, 2014: De Grood makes his first court appearance via closed-circuit television. He’s ordered to undergo a 30-day assessment to determine whether he is mentally fit to stand trial. A funeral for Rathwell, 21, is held the same day.

April 23, 2014: A funeral service is held for Lawrence Hong, 27, who was in his final year in the University of Calgary’s urban studies program.

April 30, 2014: The University of Calgary holds a public memorial for all five victims. Hunter, Hong and Segura attended the university, Perras studied at Mount Royal University and Rathwell was at the Alberta College of Art and Design. Scholarships and trust funds are established in honour of each person.

May 22, 2014: Following a 30-day psychiatric assessment, de Grood is found fit to stand trial. His lawyer, Allan Fay, says doctors recommend his client receive ongoing psychiatric treatment.

July 22, 2014: De Grood makes his first court appearance in person and is ordered to undergo another psychiatric evaluation. Lawyer Allan Fay says his client is “nervous” and will continue to undergo treatment.

August 28, 2014: The defence requests another extension of de Grood’s mental-health review. He’s in custody at the Edmonton Remand Centre.

March 2, 2015: A preliminary hearing begins to determine if de Grood should stand trial. The courtroom is packed with friends and family members of the victims.

March 6, 2015: De Grood is ordered to stand trial.

March 25, 2015: A judge upholds a publication ban on search warrant evidence in the stabbing deaths. Several media outlets had requested access to the warrants and to witness interviews done immediately after the attack. The move was opposed by family members, the Calgary Police Service and the Crown. The judge rules some of the material could jeopardize the fairness of the trial.

May 13, 2016: The trial begins and de Grood pleads not guilty, although the defence does not contest the psychiatric evidence. The earlier publication ban is removed. Testimony reveals that a month before the attacks, de Grood started posting about the end of the world, religion, vampires and Darth Vader on Facebook. He reported hearing voices telling him to kill and believed the end of the world was coming. De Grood, who had garlic stuffed inside his clothing at the time of his arrest, posted messages online talking about killing vampires, according to an agreed statement of facts.

May 24, 2016: The trial concludes with lawyers for the Crown and defence agreeing de Grood was in a psychotic state and unable to distinguish right from wrong when he stabbed his victims.

May 25, 2016: Justice Eric Macklin finds de Grood not criminally responsible. Macklin says he accepts findings from psychiatric experts that de Grood was suffering from a mental disorder and did not appreciate his actions were wrong.