Top court rejects appeal of man who killed 5 at Calgary house party
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CALGARY – Alberta’s top court has rejected a bid by a man seeking more freedom from mandatory supervision after he stabbed five people to death at a Calgary house party.
Matthew de Grood had been looking for a conditional discharge or at the very least a relaxation of rules surrounding his supervision in group homes.
The 33-year-old was charged with murder in the 2014 deaths but found not criminally responsible as he was mentally ill at the time.
Rules surrounding de Grood’s detention are periodically reviewed by the Alberta Criminal Court Review Board.
De Grood asked the Court of Appeal of Alberta to overturn a recent ruling by the board that he still poses a significant threat to the public and should remain detained.
Three Appeal Court judges say the board made no errors in its decision and declined to change the conditions of his supervision.
“The (criminal court review) board made a positive finding there was a risk of serious physical harm to the public, and that finding was based on the evidence,” the judges wrote in a decision released Friday.
“An appeal court…should not be too quick to overturn the board’s expert opinion about how that risk is to be managed. It is not for this court to micromanage conditions and privileges.”
De Grood is living in a supervised group home in Calgary.
He was 22 when he attacked Zackariah Rathwell, Jordan Segura, Kaitlin Perras, Josh Hunter and Lawrence Hong.
Court heard that in the early hours of April 15, 2014, during a party described as laid back and relaxed, de Grood went to the kitchen, grabbed a knife and quickly and unexpectedly stabbed the five before fleeing.
The trial heard de Grood, suffering from schizophrenia at the time, believed he was attacking Medusas and werewolves for the son of God.
“The expert evidence was unanimous that the appellant had suffered a psychotic episode, had lost touch with reality and did not appreciate that his behaviour was morally wrong,” said the Appeal Court decision.
“He was acting under a delusion that he was being threatened.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2025.