CALGARY – A public fatality inquiry into the stabbing death of a Calgary caseworker five years ago has heard that the killer was absent from the facility for weeks at a time before the attack occurred.
Brandon Newman pleaded guilty in 2021 to second degree murder for stabbing Deborah Onwu 19 times at an assisted-living facility in the city in 2019.
He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 14 years.
Onwu was working with Newman at Wood’s Homes Assisted Living Residence in southwest Calgary – a children’s mental health centre.
Fatality inquiries are legal proceedings before a court of justice that clarify the circumstances of a death and may provide insight and recommendations to prevent similar deaths.
Daina Havens, a program manager for Wood’s Homes who was involved in Newman’s case, told the inquiry that he was originally assigned a team of seven people and would receive attention on a two-to-one basis, meaning two people would be with him at all times. She described him as “a really nice young man” but mentally very young.
But she said Newman’s transition from youth treatment to that of an adult when he turned 18 proved to be difficult and he would often go AWOL and on one occasion disappeared for three weeks. Court heard he was in the program 64 days and absent a total of 79 days.
A decision was made to reduce his individual support team from two people to one.
“If we have an individual who’s feeling oppressed it can likely aggravate and increase aggressive behaviour. It’s a triggering factor…so reducing that ratio under continuous supervision would have less impact on his mood management capacity,” Havens said.
Because he was gone so often, three members of his seven-member team were reassigned elsewhere.
“Our treatment was failing,” she said.
The night of the attack a staff member received a tip that Newman was at a transit station and “high as a kite”.
Onwu was filling in for a friend and working the night shift at the facility. She noted to a colleague that Newman had missed the 11 p.m. curfew.
He arrived after 2 a.m. and a half-hour later another staff member heard what sounded like a fight in the unit.
Onwu died of blood loss at the scene after being stabbed in the head, face, neck, chest and ankle.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published February 6, 2025.
