The man found “not criminally responsible” for the death of Sommer Boudreau may be eligible for “transitional living” in the community in less than a year.
The Ontario Review Board has ruled that Adam Rossi, 42, “remains a significant threat to the public” but that he may be allowed to live in the community “in an approved supervised setting” when doctors feel he is ready.
The Ontario Review Board held a hearing on Rossi’s case on April 30 this year.
Its decision was released at the end of June.
Rossi was originally charged with second degree murder and “indignity to a body” following a police investigation into Boudreau’s death in early December 2022.
At trial, both Crown Attorney James Bocking and Superior Court Justice Ian Carter accepted the opinion of expert witness Dr Neil de Laplante that Rossi was “not criminally responsible” for his actions, under section 16 of the Criminal Code of Canada.
Dr de Laplante, a forensic psychiatrist with the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, told court that Rossi was experiencing an episode of “mania with psychosis” on December 10, 2022 when he took Sommer’s life.
Since his trial, Rossi has remained in detention, first in jail and then at the “forensic assessment unit” at the Royal Ottawa.
With a finding of “not criminally responsible,” Rossi is now under the jurisdiction of the Ontario Review Board, which will hold annual reviews on his case until he is found to be “not a significant threat to the safety of the public”…
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