Two months after he was found not criminally responsible in the murder of his wife, and subsequent explosion that levelled their Kitchener home, Udo Haan made his first appearance before the Ontario Review Board, the body that will decide his future.
The five-person panel heard from representatives of the hospital where Haan is currently being treated, as well as a lawyer representing the Crown and Haan’s lawyer Steve Gehl, who all agreed Haan still presents a significant threat to public safety.
It was back in August 2018 that Haan killed his wife Edra and then opened a drip line in the basement of their Sprucedale Cres. home causing it to explode.
In February 2023, a judge determined Haan was not criminally responsible for the offences, as he was suffering from delusions at the time.
The joint recommendation presented to the Ontario Review Board is that Haan remains detained in hospital care for the next year, as his mental condition still needs a specific diagnosis and further treatment.
While Haan has a history of non-compliance with treatment, hospital representatives say thus far he has been co-operative with his current care team, including participating in recommended programming and medication changes.
Hospital lawyer Julie Zamprogna told the board that Haan’s symptoms of his yet-to-be-diagnosed mental condition led to the “most serious index offences,” adding that while his insight seems “reasonable” across spheres, it has not been tested with less supervision.
“These are early days in Mr. Haan’s rehabilitation,” Zamprogna told the board, noting the ultimate goal is community reintegration.
The team is recommending that eventually Haan could get indirectly supervised passes into southwestern Ontario, with an approved itinerary so he can visit his mother, but the board heard that getting to that point requires a number of steps that would have to fall into place first. Haan would need to be stable, with an established track record, and a plan would have to be in place to ensure safety.
All parties also agreed that Haan should face a weapons prohibition.
The panel will now deliberate and come to their decision, called a disposition, which will be released in the next week or two, with a more detailed written document outlining the reasons to follow in about a month.
Shayne Kert, the presiding chair at the panel, noted that when a joint submission is presented, there has to be a good reason to depart from the recommendations.
Kert also addressed Haan before the hearing ended, saying the panel wishes the best to him over the coming year, and while it may be a different panel he goes before at his hearing next year, “we hope to hear that things have gone well and that you have been able to move forward.”
The five members of the review board include lawyers, psychiatrists and a member of the public.
