A Vernon woman’s appeal to be released from a psychiatric hospital has been dismissed for the fifth time.
Gabriel Hunter Gibson, 42, was found not criminally responsible due to her mental disorder for attempted child abduction and assault in September 2018 and she’s been held in a psychiatric hospital ever since.
In October 2016, a four-year-old boy was trying to leave a Vernon public bus with his great-grandmother when Gibson grabbed the boy’s wrist and told the older woman, “No you’re not taking him, he’s my child.”
Another passenger intervened and prevented the abduction.
Since then, she’s been in custody at Coquitlam’s Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, and Gibson undergoes annual mandatory reviews. During her fifth review, the Review Board found she posed a significant threat to the public and required continued supervision. The board also allowed Gibson supervised community visits.
Gibson appealed the decision and it was brought before the BC Court of Appeal in Vancouver on May 8. On Wednesday, a judge upheld the Review Board’s decision.
Court documents outline Gibson’s long history of psychiatric illness, having been diagnosed with treatment-resistant schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type, and substance use disorder.
“Gibson suffers from severe and persistent psychotic symptoms, including delusions about having her own children and communicating with them telepathically,” reads court documents. “She believes that children acknowledge her as their mother through looks and glances and convey a desire to be with her.”
Gibson also has a long history with the criminal justice system, including other attempted child abductions, assault and vehicle theft.
The court found the board did not err in its original decision and the appeal was dismissed.
Gibson has unsuccessfully tried to appeal her detention at the hospital several times over the past few years.
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