BURST
An Ontario woman found not criminally responsible for stabbing her infant son to death in August 2020 has been granted an absolute discharge.
Rebecca Dieter — who has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type, and cannabis use disorder in sustained remission — was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder April 1, 2021, on a charge of second-degree murder. Dieter, who prefers to go by the name Rebecca Daly, lives in Kitchener, Ont., with her mother.
“The threshold for significant risk is onerous. A significant threat to the safety of the public means a foreseeable and substantial risk of physical or psychological harm to members of the public,” the Ontario Review Board said in a recent decision out of Toronto.
“Upon consideration of all of the evidence, the board is unable to conclude that Ms. Daly continues to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public. Accordingly, the board orders that she be absolutely discharged.”
The independent tribunal regularly reviews the status of individuals found not criminally responsible due to mental disorder.
“On August 9, 2020, during a major psychotic incident, Ms. Daly stabbed her infant son multiple times causing his death,” said the April 14 decision.
Police found the eight-month-old boy dead when they went to her Kitchener apartment for a well-being check.
“Ms. Daly has a history of struggles with mental health (since at least February 2012) with multiple hospitalizations,” said the decision. “At the time of her arrest, she was highly psychotic, experiencing command auditory hallucinations commanding her to sacrifice her child.”
Daly got a conditional discharge in March 2025, which meant she had to report to a hospital at least twice a month and provide random samples of urine and submit to breath tests.
Daly didn’t use cannabis over the last year, said the decision. “She has been abstinent from alcohol since July 2025.”
According to her hospital report, “in her late teen years,” Daly’s “psychiatric difficulties became more overt. She recalled three psychiatric hospitalizations for psychosis, episodes which generally occurred in the context of substance use and/or medication nonadherence.”
She was admitted to Grand River Hospital in 2012 at age 18. “She went to hospital on the advice of her pastor.”
Police took her to the same hospital again in September 2014, accompanied by her grandmother. She was discharged a month later, with the diagnosis of bipolar disorder with psychosis.
A boyfriend and a roommate took her to the North York General Hospital Psychiatry service in January 2018. “She was psychotic, with grandiose, persecutory, and religious ideas … she had been consuming excessive quantities of cannabis.”
She left the hospital after four days, despite contrary advice.
“Cannabis use induced or exacerbated her mental health difficulties during previous hospital contacts. Notably, however, there was no evidence of cannabis use” around the time she killed her infant, said the decision.
“Her urine drug screen in hospital on August 9, 2020, was negative for substances of abuse.”
She “occasionally followed up with outpatient psychiatric services after hospital admissions,” said the decision.
“She generally fell away from treatment as she felt better.”
For the two years prior to her pregnancy, she didn’t have any outpatient psychiatric care. Though she “had been getting her antipsychotic prescription from her father’s family physician.”
She stopped taking medications “shortly after learning she was pregnant,” said the decision.
A lawyer for the hospital submitted that she doesn’t “represent a significant threat to the safety of the public and that she should be absolutely discharged,” said the decision, which notes lawyers for Daly and the provincial attorney general adopted the same position.
She has lived with her mother since June 2023 and has remained in the care of a psychiatrist during that time.
She worked at a thrift store over the past year.
There “were no clear reports of Ms. Daly demonstrating positive or negative signs or symptoms of her mental illness” in the past year, said the decision.
“At times, she experienced anxiety and some odd beliefs that impacted her daily functioning, often presenting with recurring thoughts.”
She “was able to draw on her supports (family and treatment team” to cope, said the decision.
“She experienced forms of behavioural instability, such as impulsivity, financial spending, and poor decision making at times. However, she appeared to work through these nuances appropriately.”
Daly “has entered a relationship with a person who does not use substances and is a prosocial influence,” said the decision.
She “was described as sociable and cooperative, expanding her social network (intimate, coworkers, friends), and attending to all her appointments with her Forensic Treatment team and community-based support.”
Daly “has good insight into her mental illness, potential early warning signs for relapse, as well as historic psychotic symptoms (‘constantly thinking about the Holy Spirit’ and feeling as though her inner dialogue was communication with God),” said the decision.
“She remains fearful of a relapse to the point of causing her some anxiety, which was considered a protective factor. She was transparent with her Forensic team regarding her thoughts, demonstrating positive steps to seeking early intervention. She remains highly cooperative in treatment suggestions and prioritizes the maintenance of her mental health.”
She knows if she stops taking her “long-acting injectable medication” or returns to “cannabis use, she could become violent again in the future.”
She self-manages her medications, said the decision. “In May 2025, she missed one bedtime medication dose.”
This past February she was “offered a subsidized, bachelor apartment.”
As of the date of the decision, she was still waiting for a tour of the place. “The location has been described as appropriate and is about a 20-minute bus ride to her place of work.”
Daly “is committed to her continued recovery and has entered into a voluntary Community Treatment Order (CTO) to provide an additional safety net in the event that she decompensates for any reason,” said the decision.
But her psychiatrist said she “does not represent a significant threat to the safety of the public even without the CTO.”
Moving “away from her mother’s home will be a possible stressor,” but her psychiatrist was of the opinion she could handle it well.
Daly is involved with a stable “mainstream” faith community, said the decision. “She is able to distinguish between faith-based thoughts and religious thoughts generated by her illness. She has distanced herself from the people who negatively influenced her prior to the index offence, including the father of her child.”
Her hospital report “indicates a low risk of violence in the context of an absolute discharge,” said the decision.
“Ms. Daly is a prosocial person who has surrounded herself with prosocial supports and will be supported by the most robust non-forensic psychiatric support system available in her community.”
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