News that Allan Schoenborn was granted escorted leave from a psychiatric hospital has left disheartened Merritt residents living in a state of shock and fear.

"I do not agree with that. I believe that the man is a psychopath," said Lolly Rice. "They say he's gone through anger management. Anger management doesn't help a psychopath."

The B.C. Review Board announced Wednesday that Schoenborn, 42, will be allowed to take supervised day trips into the community, as he requested the day before.

Schoenborn was found not criminally responsible last winter for the murder of his children — aged five, eight and 10 — three years ago in Merritt.

He's since been diagnosed with a delusional disorder and has been receiving treatment at a psychiatric hospital where he has been confined since his trial.

Rice said the murders stunned and upset the community to the point the crimes are still talked about today.

"It's a horrible thing, what happened. It's a shame," she said.

She, like many in Merritt, doesn't believe Schoenborn acted out of anger. Rice said there's no way a man would murder his children just to get at his wife.

The home Schoenborn shared with Darcie Clark, the children's mother, has remained empty since. A neighbour who asked not to be identified said weeds have overtaken the yard and the windows are blacked out.

She's scared Schoenborn will slip away form his escorted leave and return to the scene of the crime, she said.

"I'm still afraid," she said, adding residents kept their doors locked the entire time Schoenborn was at large following the killings. "What's to stop him from hurting anybody else?"

Like Rice, she believes Schoenborn shouldn't be allowed out on leave, escorted or otherwise.

"What kind of punishment is that? His kids are dead and he gets off to go out and have a coffee," she said.

Kim Robinson, the Merritt hunting guide who aided in Schoenborn's capture, doesn't understand the review board's decision.

"I can't believe those little kids' lives were that meaningless to our society. That little girl will never have a date or be a mom," he said. "It's a joke. It's a travesty."

Unlike Rice, Robinson is convinced Schoenborn acted out of anger. He said Schoeborn had a lot of time during his 10 days at large in the woods around Merritt to come up with a story.

And he doubts the killer will return but, if Schoenborn does, he's welcome to pay him a visit, said Robinson.

"He knows where I live. I've never tried to hide that," he said.

Schoenborn requested at his first review hearing last year to be discharged completely from the hospital, but was denied on the grounds he was still a threat to society.

He said this time around that he wants to keep taking his medication and remain at the hospital.

"I'm looking for the answers to what happened, and I don't want anything to gum up the works," he said.

Hospital director Dr. Johann Brink supported Schoenborn's request for supervised visits, but said the man still has anger issues to resolve. Although the board has granted Schoenborn's general request, it will be at Brink's discretion to approve leave from the hospital.

Crown lawyer Lyle Hillaby supported the supervised visits, but issued a warning to the review board.
"He is not to be trusted," Hillaby said of Schoenborn.

"He had a terrible history with violence and anger."

Scott Hicks, Schoenborn's lawyer, told the review board that his client had committed no violent acts over the past year and his disorder was in remission, so it was "realistic" to grant him community visits at Brink's discretion.

In their decision, the review board said Schoenborn may have escorted access to the community, but must not use alcohol or drugs, possess a weapon or contact his ex-wife.