A man accused of stabbing three people in Vancouver’s Chinatown on Sept. 10, 2023 has pleaded not guilty to three counts of aggravated assault and could go to trial later this year.
Blair Evan Donnelly made his first appearance in B.C. Supreme Court March 12 after multiple earlier appearances in Vancouver Provincial Court.
Among the victims was a Burnaby couple in their 60s, who sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries, according to police. The other victim was a woman in her 20s from Vancouver.
The alleged offences happened during the Light Up Chinatown! festival.
Donnelly was taken into custody nearby, police said. He remains in custody and appeared before Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes via video.
Donnelly has elected a trial by provincial court judge.
An articling student representing defence lawyer Glen Orris said a two-week trial is expected for the case.
Holmes heard from prosecutor Mark Myhre that the Crown wishes to set trial dates as soon as possible.
Holmes heard Orris' trial calendar is tight but that he is hoping for time in September-October.
Donnelly returns to court April 9 for an update on the situation.
At the time of the stabbing, Donnelly was on an unescorted day pass from a Metro Vancouver forensic psychiatric facility, according to police.
He was originally in care after being found not criminally responsible for the 2006 stabbing of his 16-year-old daughter.
As recently as April 2023, the B.C. Review Board ruled Donnelly remained a “significant” threat to public safety, according to a report leaked to media.
B.C. Premier David Eby announced in September 2023 that former Abbotsford police chief Bob Rich has been hired to review how Donnelly came to be released from the psychiatric facility before the stabbing.
With files from Cornelia Naylor and the Canadian Press
