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CBC
a day ago
- CBC
After recent arrest, review board mulls fate of former Kitchener man who killed wife, blew up home
The Ontario Review Board is expected to decide the fate of a former Kitchener, Ont., man who killed his wife and blew up their home in 2018 after he was arrested in April for allegedly harassing a woman he met while speed dating. In 2023, Udo Haan, 65, was found not criminally responsible for the death of his wife Edra Haan. Emergency crews were called to a home on Sprucedale Crescent in Kitchener just after 8 a.m. on Aug. 22, 2018. They found the body of 58-year-old Edra Haan in the back yard of the home. Udo Haan was critically injured and airlifted to a Hamilton hospital. The Kitchener court heard Udo Haan suffered from major depressive disorder with psychotic features, or delusional disorder, when he killed his wife. An agreed statement of facts noted the couple, who had been married for 40 years, were in the process of separating in the summer of 2018. He has spent time at the Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care in St. Thomas and since September 2024, has been allowed to live in an apartment in the town. The Ontario Review Board reviews dispositions for people who are found not criminally responsible for their crimes or who are found to be unfit to stand trial. A report to the review board by the forensic hospital, operated by St. Joseph's Health Care, said he takes lithium, used for patients with bipolar disorder as a mood stabilizer, and the anti-psychotic medication Seroquel. His medication was reduced in December 2024 and again in February 2025 at his request because Haan had expressed concerns the lithium was having on his thyroid. The report said Haan had told his care team in late March of this year about meeting a woman in his building during a speed dating event. He said he understood "she needed a friend, not a boyfriend" and he wanted to help her out. The woman was a recent immigrant from India who did not have family living nearby, had few friends and she struggled with depression. When outreach teams attempted to call him twice on April 10, he did not answer his phone. They went to visit Haan for a scheduled appointment on April 16, but he was not home. On April 18, he was arrested after the woman from his building alleged Haan was harassing her. "When police arrived at his apartment, they found him drinking beer and smoking joints of cannabis," the report said, noting Haan has been ordered to abstain from both drugs and alcohol. He was arrested and returned to the hospital where he was observed experiencing bipolar symptoms, "likely primarily triggered by sub-optimal treatment and driven by cannabis and alcohol use" as well as stress. The report details erratic behaviour by Haan over the next week, including yelling at staff, getting upset about clothing, saying he could get weapons into the hospital if he wanted to and indicating he had a "hot date" on the weekend so he could not stay in the hospital. On April 24, it was determined Haan was "incapable of making treatment decisions with respect to his bipolar condition." Haan also expressed paranoid thoughts and claimed someone had threatened to kill him in a message on Facebook, although the report noted no one from the outreach team has seen the post to verify its existence. He also claimed he had hired a private investigator to follow the woman from his building and "discount her story." This behaviour was similar to when Haan had his wife followed by a private investigator before her death because he was convinced she was having an affair. Haan remains in the hospital while the Ontario Review Board determines next steps. He has been ordered not to contact the woman from his building and refrain from surveilling her by any means. A decision from the June 10 hearing is expected within a week, and the reasons will be available within four weeks, the review board says.
CTV News
3 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
Udo Haan back in St. Thomas hospital after harassment complaint
Udo Haan, the Kitchener, Ont. man who was found not criminally responsible for killing his wife and causing an explosion that destroyed the couple's home in 2018, has been readmitted to the Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care in St. Thomas. The 65-year-old was brought back to the hospital on April 18 after a woman accused him of harassment. Haan's history Haan was sent to the facility at the conclusion of his criminal case. Since then, his care has been under the purview of the Ontario Review Board. They monitor the progress of his treatment and decide when, and for how long, he can leave the centre. Haan had been suffering from delusions when his killed his wife Edra and blew up their home on Sprucedale Cresent in August 2018. He was diagnosed with an unspecified bipolar disorder and has been taking lithium as part of his treatment plan. The board gave Haan permission to move out of the hospital in September 2024. In the months since, he had been living independently in an apartment near the hospital. He was still required to attend meetings with his medical team and submit to regular testing to make sure he was taking his medication. The Ontario Review Board noted in a recent hearing that Haan wanted to pursue romantic relationships. They ultimately decided he had to report any relationships to his medical team due to 'grave intimate partner violence' in the past and his 'lack of insight into his illness.' Haan was also told he had to abstain from drugs and alcohol. The board, while allowing Haan more freedoms, felt he still represented a 'significant threat to the safety of the public.' New developments On April 18, police went to Haan's apartment after a woman complained he had been harassing her. 'When police arrived at his apartment, they found him drinking beer and smoking joints of cannabis,' a hospital report said. Haan claimed he had received a death threat on social media and that was one of the reasons he had used drugs and alcohol. The hospital's outreach team said they are investigating that allegation. Haan also said he hired a private investigator to follow the woman who filed the complaint in order to discount her story. Members of his medical team noted he had previously hired a private investigator to follow his wife before he caused her death. Haan's actions resulted in criminal charges, and he was taken back to the Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care. Within days, his medical team said he was experiencing 'an acute decompensation of his unspecified bipolar and related disorder, which was likely primarily triggered by sub-optimal treatment and driven by cannabis and alcohol use, along with stressors he was experiencing around the alleged death threat he received.' A doctor at the facility also determined Haan was incapable of making treatment decisions for his bipolar condition. Since Haan has launched a court appeal, the hospital noted that has limited his treatment options. That, in turn, means his hospital stay will likely be extended. At a hearing on Tuesday, both the hospital's lawyer and Haan's lawyer agreed the restrictions on his liberty were warranted.
