VANCOUVER — Blair Donnelly, the man accused of stabbing three individuals at a festival in Vancouver's Chinatown in September 2023, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of aggravated assault. Donnelly appeared in court wearing a navy sweatsuit and took notes during the proceedings. He had been on unescorted leave from the B.C. Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam on the day of the incident.

The trial, which is being conducted by a judge alone, commenced at the B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on Monday. Crown prosecutor Mark Myhre stated that Donnelly was on a day pass for a bike ride but instead purchased a chisel at Home Depot. Afterward, he rode his bike to Braid SkyTrain station, took the train to Vancouver, and attended the Light Up Chinatown festival.

According to the Crown, Donnelly has admitted to being the individual who stabbed the three victims. "I anticipate the only issue of the court is whether or not Mr. Donnelly is criminally liable or if he is not criminally responsible by reason of mental disorder," Myhre said.

The stabbings occurred just before 6 p.m. on September 10, 2023, while the victims were seated and watching a musical performance. Myhre noted that two women were stabbed in the back and required stitches, while a man was stabbed in the forearm and suffered an abrasion to his left knee. All three victims received tetanus shots following the attack.

Donnelly's mental health is a central issue in the trial. Myhre indicated that while Donnelly suffers from a mental illness, the key questions are whether he was experiencing symptoms on the day of the stabbings and if those symptoms impaired his ability to understand that his actions were wrong.

The trial is expected to last approximately three weeks, and the defense has not yet presented its case. A report from last year by former Abbotsford Police Chief Bob Rich revealed that Donnelly had been granted unescorted leave from a psychiatric facility 99 times in the year leading up to the stabbings without any incidents. Notably, he had previously stabbed a friend while on a day pass in 2009 and attacked another patient with a butter knife shortly after returning from leave in 2017, according to documents from the B.C. Review Board.