By Sarah Rae

Man found not criminally responsible in 2002 double axe-killing fully released

Jul 14, 2016 | 7:00 PM

A man who was found not criminally responsible for the deaths of two people 14 years ago has been fully discharged.

A meeting of the Saskatchewan Review Board (SRB) at the Saskatchewan Hospital in North Battleford found Layne Larose is no longer a threat to the public.

Larose, 54, was found not criminally responsible in the axe-killings of David Kennedy and Hughie Sayers on May 28, 2002 and has been under the jurisdiction of the SRB since.

The decision, signed by Judge Hugh Harradence, states Larose has shown he’s committed to treatment and will abstain from drugs and alcohol if discharged.

“The SRB recommends and encourages strict compliance with his medication and requirements of his treatment team. The SRB accepts the evidence of Layne Larose that he will continue in this regard,” the decision reads.

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After being found not criminally responsible for the killings, Larose was treated at the Regional Psychiatric Hospital in Saskatoon, then transferred to Saskatchewan Hospital in North Battleford. He was then moved to Saskatoon to live in a group home.

Larose applied to move back to the Battlefords to live with his mother in 2012, which Kennedy’s family opposed publically.

Erin Bartsch, counsel for the Attorney General of Saskatchewan, opposed the discharge on the grounds that without the structure and supervision of the SRB, Larose would pose a threat to the public, according to the decision.

She said at the time of the decision Larose was not a threat to the public, which was because of the conditions imposed on him by the SRB. Those conditions include abstaining from drugs and alcohol, maintaining a residence, keeping in contact with a treatment team, attending appointments, complying with treatment and not possessing any weapons.

“My concern is the real impetus for him abstaining from drugs and alcohol at this point in time is the involvement of the review board,” Bartsch said in the decision. “Willpower isn’t a great plan in that regard, and he hasn’t set up any of the other appropriate supports in the community that the review board could be confident he is not a significant risk if the review board withdrew its jurisdiction.”

Larose’s attorney Linda Wood stated in the decision he’s been discharged into the community for a long time and posed no threat, so there’s no need for the board’s involvement anymore. She said Larose has improved “exponentially” throughout his treatment and the board has given him every opportunity to transition into the community.

Sarah Rae is battlefordsNOW’s court and crime reporter. She can be reached at Sarah.Rae@jpbg.ca or tweet her @sarahjeanrae. Concerns regarding this story can be addressed to News Director Geoff Smith at 306-446-6397.