A B.C. man who told hospital staff he killed two people and wanted to harm others was not arrested and charged until more than a month after his initial confession, according to court documents.

Mitchell McIntyre has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Julia Howe on February 6, 2022, in Creston, BC. Howe was shot in the head.

Pretrial court documents The day after Howe’s death, McIntyre went to the RCMP detachment in Creston to tell police they needed to take him into custody.

After being hospitalized multiple times over the next month, he confessed again, this time to killing Howe and another person he named David Creamly.

Police arrested McIntyre in Howe’s death on March 16, 2022; At this point a man named David Creamer was cremated and all his belongings were taken from his home in Kimberley, BC – he fell and hit his head after authorities ruled his death an accident.

Creamer died on Feb. 6, 2022, the same day Howe was shot in the head.

The complex web of the case, heard only by a judge this week, describes how police eventually charged McIntyre with one of the two deaths.

‘I will harm myself and possibly others’

Justice Paul Riley’s BC Supreme Court decision reveals what happened in the case.

Riley was making the decision as part of pre-trial proceedings. very difficultThe judge receives information from both prosecutors and the defense about what evidence is acceptable at trial.

On February 7, 2022, the day after the deaths of Howe and Creamer, McIntyre arrived at the Cranbrook RCMP detachment saying he wanted to be arrested and jailed, according to a court order.

Officers said they were unable to arrest McIntyre without cause and spoke with him for several hours while requesting an attorney and requesting that he be taken into custody.

An RCMP corporal who was on shift at the time told McIntyre he seemed like a “good guy” and they wanted to help him.

“Mr. McIntyre said he was not a good man. He should have been arrested and taken to jail,” court documents said.

It quotes McIntyre also telling police, “You should arrest me because I’m going to hurt myself and possibly others.” He was eventually taken to East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook under the Mental Health Act.

The court decision states that the death of Howe, who was found in a pool of blood on the floor of his bathroom, was not initially considered suspicious.

Just two days later, after an autopsy, police found a bullet in his head and began investigating the death of the woman, who was learned in court to have been McIntyre’s neighbour.

Confessions to doctors

The court order states that McIntyre found himself in and out of the mental health unit at East Kootenay Regional Hospital for a month. Meanwhile, he is said to have told doctors his violent thoughts and then confessed to the murder of Howe and another man.

On February 12, 2022, a psychiatrist recorded McIntyre saying he shot Howe, shot his old friend “David Creamly” who had betrayed him in the past, and surrendered to the police.

However, court documents state that doctors were unsure whether to treat McIntyre’s confessions as factual, specifically that he mentioned hearing voices in his head.

“Mr. McIntyre was still in the ‘delusional belief’ that he had killed his neighbor (Howe) and his friend,” according to doctor’s notes dated Feb. 13 described in court documents.

“When informed that there had been no reports of a murder in Kimberley, Mr. McIntyre responded with obvious shock or surprise.”

‘No matter how serious’

RCMP were in intermittent contact with doctors treating McIntyre while investigating Howe’s death, and eventually applied to look at McIntyre’s medical records, according to the court order.

At least three doctors were interviewed during this time, one of whom described McIntyre telling them he was “pretty sure” he “killed that woman.”

On Feb. 18, one of McIntyre’s psychiatrists said he was not willing to discharge him and that he should remain in a forensic psychiatric unit for a period of time, according to the court order.

“In terms of potential safety risk to others, it is as serious as it gets,” the doctor told a police officer. The statement was included.

“He claims to have killed two people and probably has a list of potential people he intends to kill.”

It took until March 8 for police to comb through medical records and realize McIntyre had confessed to Creamer’s death.

The court decision explains how the police became angry with the doctors for not informing them about Creamer’s death earlier.

The judge wrote that the doctors “tried to respect the boundaries of patient confidentiality and to make independent decisions regarding Mr. McIntyre’s medical treatment in an unusual situation.”

during very difficult At trial, McIntyre’s defense attorneys said prosecutors failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the hospital admissions were made freely and voluntarily.

Ultimately, Riley decided to add McIntyre’s entire police contacts and hospital statements into evidence by February 18, 2022.

‘The story didn’t make much sense,’ says Creamer’s daughter

Creamer’s daughter, Taylor Creamer, told CBC News that investigators never took her father’s death seriously.

He said his father was found on his couch without his phone on February 6, which should have been a sign for them to investigate further.

“The story didn’t make much sense… like he was on the couch, but he still fell and hit his head,” he said.

“How come you don’t put two and two together? Why don’t you do your job by investigating these things? How often do these things happen and you just ignore them?” he added.

Taylor Creamer said she now wants to press for answers about her father’s death and the delays in the investigation.

CBC News contacted the RCMP to see if they were considering charges in the death of David Creamer and to respond to his daughter’s allegations.

A spokesman later confirmed no charges were being considered in connection with Creamer’s death.

“(Officers) went above and beyond to progress the investigation,” the spokesman said, adding that factors beyond their control meant no charges could be laid.

McIntyre’s trial is scheduled to last until November 22.