The provincial review board was in North Battleford Friday to consider Layne Larose's request to move back to the Battlefords.
Larose is the man who was charged with but eventually found not criminally responsible for the 2002 axe-killing deaths of David Kennedy and Hughie Sayers in North Battleford.
Until recently, he had been treated at Saskatchewan Hospital, but in May 2011 the Review Board granted his request to be released.
For a number of months Larose has been living in a group in Saskatoon, but he has made a request to move back to the Battlefords in order to seek employment there.
The review board considered his request at a hearing Friday morning, with lawyer George Combe making the case to allow Larose to live with his mother in Battleford while obtaining employment in the community.
According to Combe, Larose was seeking a move back due to difficulties in finding employment in Saskatoon due to concerns about his background.
Larose was at the hearing, and told the board he was confident he would be able to find an opportunity in masonry in the Battlefords. The prospective employer is someone Larose had worked for before when he was at Saskatchewan Hospital. Combe told the board the prospective employer is a general contractor that does a wide range of work.
Combe told the board Larose was "anxious to get back on his feet" and "anxious to move forward."
As well, the board heard from his psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Adams and nurse Mark Budz (who appeared by telephone). They confirmed Larose continued to make good progress with his treatment.
Adams told the four-person review board Larose was compliant with treatment and that the screens for toxins continued to come back negative. Budz told the board Larose had "no delusions of any nature" and no signs of paranoia, and understands the necessity of medication. Budz also indicated to the board he was prepared to stay on as nurse while a replacement was being found in the Battlefords.
The review board indicated at the close of the meeting that they would come down with a decision as quickly as possible.
Also at the hearing was lawyer Dean Sinclair on behalf of the Attorney General of Saskatchewan, as well as members of the victims' family including Roxanne Kennedy, who has in the past expressed concerns about Larose's return to the Battlefords.
The family did not speak at the hearing, however, which lasted about 15 minutes.
