MANDEL: PATH killer to be released soon, review board hears
'We will be living in fear'
Author of the article:Michele Mandel
Publishing date:May 19, 2021 • 13 hours ago • 3 minute read • 18 Comments
Rohinie Bisesar was found not criminally responsible in the stabbing death of Rosemarie Junor in 2015.
Rohinie Bisesar was found not criminally responsible in the stabbing death of Rosemarie Junor in 2015. PHOTO BY HANDOUT /FILE
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PATH killer Rohinie Bisesar is ready to be discharged into the community.
The only question is whether it will be into supportive housing chosen by her treatment team at CAMH or will she be able to choose where she wants to go without any restrictions — or supervision.
Whatever disposition the Ontario Review Board decides, Bisesar will soon be released from the forensic unit at the Queen St. hospital — and that terrifies the mother of the woman she stabbed to death almost six years ago.
“Those demon voices can come back again,” warns Rosalind Junor. “We will be living in fear.”
Bisesar was suffering from untreated schizophrenia in December 2015 when she followed Rosemarie “Kim” Junor into the underground Shoppers Drug Mart. The newlywed ultrasound technician was shopping while talking to a friend on her cellphone when Bisesar suddenly plunged a knife into her heart. And then walked away.
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Bisesar, who believed she was being controlled through “nanotechnology” devices planted in her petite body, was found not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder in 2018 and has been detained at CAMH.
At her annual ORB hearing, her psychiatrist told the board that Bisesar, 46, has made great strides — she continues to be on two anti-psychotic medications and is in complete remission, has passed both levels of her Canadian Securities course, is enrolled in university accounting and has had some virtual job interviews.
The MBA graduate is still hoping to work in the financial industry, the board heard.
While Bisesar was granted unaccompanied passes into the community at her last hearing, they’ve been on hold for all patients due to the pandemic. Instead, she’s had accompanied forays into the neighbourhood without incident.
“It’s our opinion that Ms. Bisesar is ready for discharge and we’re looking for housing with adequate supervision,” said Dr. Georgia Walton.
Two available places are being considered, and she could move in the “next few months,” the psychiatrist said.
Bisesar will face numerous stressors on her release, including the possibility of being approached by people who recognize her from extensive media coverage of her attack and not being able to find work due to her notoriety. While she’s been working with her team on preparing for the transition into the community, Walton warned that Bisesar needs mental health support to ensure she can cope and doesn’t deteriorate.
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But Bisesar insists she’s improved enough to be conditionally discharged, which would remove the hospital from stipulating where she can live.
“I feel like I’m missing something here,” her lawyer, Marcus Bornfreund, told the hearing.
Bisesar is an “exemplary patient” in full remission and is co-operating with her treatment, he argued. So why all the “red herrings” about what might go wrong?
“She’s proven herself to the maximum a patient can,” Bornfreund said, “yet we’re still treating her as the least capable patient.”
Her psychiatrist admitted the risk is low that Bisesar could deteriorate under stress — but not impossible. “Under a detention order, we would be able to intervene sooner to ensure the safety of the public,” Walton explained.
“At this time, it’s premature,” she said of a conditional discharge. “For Ms. Bisesar, I think there still is a real risk of reoffence.”
Crown attorney Michael Feindel also argued it’s too soon.
Bisesar was involved in “one of the most high-profile cases we’ve seen in Ontario” and no one knows what she’ll face on the outside or how she’ll react to a negative reception.
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The ORB chair Crawford MacIntyre commended Bisesar on her progress and told her she’d have their decision in a few days. He also sympathized with the victim’s family on the conference call and hoped they’d gained more “insight” into the tragedy.
That’s a tall order to expect from a mother who still grieves for her beloved daughter.
“I’m not doing good at all,” Junor said after the hearing. “She murdered my baby. They’re giving her housing.”
mmandel@postmedia.com
PATH killer Rohinie Bisesar is ready to be discharged into the community.
torontosun.com