Significant Threat to Public Safety? Ah Well...

"The parties were canvassed for their initial positions at the beginning of the hearing. All agreed that Mr. Samuel continued to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public."

[Samuel] had been non-compliant with recommended treatment for his major mental illness, had abused his medication as well as Tylenol 3s and had been  using cannabis in the periods leading to the ... offence."

"He was experiencing auditory hallucinations and paranoia that included his mother screaming for help and delusions that 'they' would kill her if he did not stab someone."

Ontario Review Board 

An empty jail cell is pictured in a file photo. Photo by file photo /Getty Images

 

Diagnosed with schizophrenia, major depressive disorder and cannabis use disorder, Kenroy Samuel has been declared not criminally responsible as a result of mental disorder. He was charged in 2021 with assault causing bodily harm and manslaughter. The Ontario Review Board has nonetheless declared that the Toronto man is now eligible for escorted city visits, even while admitting that the man "continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public". 

 

Samuel, back in 2020 had been arguing with his mother in their Toronto apartment. He physically assaulted his mother. His older brother who lived in the same building intervened, trying to calm the situation. Despite which, the confrontation escalated to the point where Samuel fatally stabbed his brother with a knife he had taken from the kitchen. Born in Toronto, his parents separated when he was five, and the mother raised her two boys on her own. Legal issues influenced his father's return to St. Vincent in the Caribbean, but not before ample instances of family violence had been witnessed by the boy.

 

The Review Board noted that Samuel 'misused' his mother's prescription opioid medication at times when he was experiencing suicidal ideation. By his late teens and early twenties it became evident that he had mental health concerns, suffering agitation, paranoia and disorganized behaviour, which repeated cannabis use exacerbated. All of which had necessitated emergency room visits between 2009 and 2013 which led to psychiatric assessments. These episodic outbreaks were linked to his aggression toward his mother. 

 

 

During periods when he threatened self-harm, he was diagnosed with substance-induced psychosis, personality disorder and 'possible' schizophrenia. Intermittent improvement followed with the use of antipsychotic medication, although he was frequently non-compliant with treatment, declined addiction services and frequently skipped follow-ups. 

 

He had been medically incarcerated following the finding of 'not criminally responsible' for having stabbed a woman on the street when police arrested him after witnesses and video surveillance identified him as having attacked the woman. Sent to confinement at the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care in Penetanguishene, Ontario -- a secure forensic facility -- he was due for transfer to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.

 

While the Ontario Review Board panel was considering his case, Samuel asked for his privileges to be extended, to permit him to enter the Greater Toronto Area with an escort, accompanied by a  hospital staffer, or someone approved as a surety, such as his mother. Greater freedom on hospital grounds another privilege that he argued for himself. All of which led the independent tribunal to state its confidence that the plan will ensure safety of the public since the hospital would control the "pace of Mr. Samuel's next steps".

 

CAMH on Toronto's College Street, in July 2025. Photo by Peter J. Thompson/National Post

 

"[Samuel had] reduced or discontinued his medication [before the stabbings, but his recent hospital report indicates Samuel has demonstrated] sustained clinical stability, exemplary engagement in treatment, and rapid, incident-free advancement in privileges." 

"[He] has performed impressively in available unit employment opportunities. He is goal-oriented and exploring options for schooling. He is medication compliant and expresses guilt, shame and emotional distress associated with the index offences, wishing he could 'go back'.

"His insight globally shows improvement."

"[His psychiatrist testified that Samuel] agreed to move to a long-lasting injectable antipsychotic medication without hesitation. He has been cooperative and insightful into his need for this treatment." 

Ontario Review Board