Cambridge, Ont. mother who killed daughter not ready for release: report

A Cambridge woman who killed her daughter in 2020 will stay in a mental health hospital after a review board decided she is still a significant threat to the public.

Melissa Duff-Shore was originally charged with second-degree murder in the death of 22-year-old Kayla Duff.

Earlier this year, Duff-Shore was found not criminally responsible due to “reason of mental disorder” – specially, automatism.

Automatism is defined as a state of unconscious, involuntary behaviour.

Duff-Shore said she woke up in Sept. 2020 and found the body of her daughter in their Cambridge home. A postmortem found Kayla Duff had been stabbed at least 70 times.

A report from the Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health in St. Thomas stated Duff-Shore still exhibits symptoms of the major mental illness that was a significant factor in the killing of her daughter.

A report released this month by the Ontario Review Board found that Duff-Shore still poses a risk to public safety, and says without direct supervision, she is vulnerable to return to substance misuse.

The report goes on to say she has issues with pushing boundaries and is still experiencing instability in her mental state, which would need to be stabilized before her treatment team is ready to recommend community living.

They also said if she was released, she would likely experience homelessness because she has no source of secure housing.

However, the ruling does not mean she cannot leave the hospital. If approved by staff, Duff-Shore will be allowed out into the Elgin County community with indirect supervision and can get eight hour passes to travel within Elgin and Middlesex Counties.

For now, Duff-Shore will remain in a mental health facility under the supervision of doctors and other professionals.

With reporting from Heather Senoran