Man found not criminally responsible in 2023 Vancouver Chinatown festival stabbings

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled that a man who stabbed three people during a Vancouver Chinatown festival in 2023 is not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder.

Justice Eric Gottardi delivered the decision Friday, saying the law does not convict people for acts committed while they are mentally ill. The ruling concerns 67-year-old Blair Donnelly, whose trial heard he believed he was acting under divine instruction when he carried out the attack last September.

Court testimony showed Donnelly had asked the Holy Spirit for a sign not to proceed, but said he “wanted to obey God” when no sign appeared. Justice Gottardi concluded Donnelly lacked the capacity to rationally decide his actions at the time.

Donnelly’s lawyer argued he was suffering from religious delusions linked to schizoaffective disorder, while Crown prosecutors maintained he understood his actions were wrong. Donnelly was on unescorted leave from the B.C. Forensic Psychiatric Hospital during the incident.

The court has referred the case to the B.C. Review Board, which will determine within 90 days whether Donnelly should remain detained or be granted conditional release. Donnelly has a history of severe mental illness and was previously found not criminally responsible for the 2006 killing of his daughter and a 2017 attack on another psychiatric patient.