Calgary Man Found Not Criminally Responsible For Stabbing Five Students to Death

The Calgary man who killed five students at a house party has been found not criminally responsible for his crimes by an Alberta judge.

Justice Eric Macklin said Wednesday he accepted expert testimony from two psychiatrists and a psychologist who said Matthew de Grood, 24, was psychotic when he stabbed five students to death in April 2014.

"He did not know or appreciate that his actions were morally wrong," Macklin said in his ruling.

During de Grood's murder trial, the court heard he believed he was the son of god and heard voices telling him to kill his victims— Lawrence Hong, 27, Joshua Hunter, 23, Jordan Segura, 22, Kaitlin Perras, 23, and Zackariah Rathwell, 21. He told police and doctors he believed they were vampires and werewolves.

Macklin ordered an Alberta Review Board to hold a hearing within 90 days, determining how de Grood will be sentenced. In the meantime, he'll be detained in a psychiatric facility.

Crown prosecutor Neil Wiberg said he may seek a high risk not criminally responsible designation for de Grood.

De Grood's lawyer Allan Fay read aloud a statement on behalf of his client apologizing for the stabbings.

"I feel the sorrow I have caused and will carry it for the rest of my life," it said. "I realize that through my illness I have done something horrible and wrong. The victims never deserved to die."

Following the ruling, the families of the five victims released a statement calling the not criminally responsible finding a "recurring nightmare."

"There will be no peace for us; our wounds never fully heal because every year our families will have to wonder, what will be the fate of the man who damaged so many lives. Every year we will be forced to relive details of our family's deaths, the anguish and sorrow."

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