MANDEL: Ontario Review Board grants absolute discharge to wife killer still struggling mentally

Victor Avidago, 62, was deemed NCR for brutally stabbing his wife to death in 2011, and was recently readmitted to CAMH

Published Jun 26, 2026  •  3 minute read

Maria Rosario Avidago, 43, was brutally stabbed to death in the kitchen of her Mississauga home in 2011 and her husband, Victor Avidago, was later deemed not criminally responsible for her murder. Photo by Facebook tribute (screenshot)

A Mississauga man found not criminally responsible for the 2011 stabbing death of his wife in front of their child has voluntarily returned to hospital this spring after re-experiencing psychotic symptoms of his paranoid schizophrenia.

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So what does the Ontario Review Board decide at Victor Avidago’s annual hearing this month while he was still hospitalized at CAMH? They declare the 62-year-old no longer poses a significant threat to the public and should be granted an absolute discharge.

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What in the world of sanity are they thinking?

Maria Rosario Avidago, 43, was brutally stabbed to death in the kitchen of her Mississauga home in 2011 and her husband, Victor Avidago, was later deemed not criminally responsible for her murder. Photo by Facebook tribute (screenshot)

One board member disagreed

Not everyone agreed with this outrageous decision.

One dissenting board member said Victor Avidago continues to pose a danger and should remain conditionally discharged, meaning he can live in the community – as he did before the recent return of his symptoms – but continue to be under the watchful eye of the ORB.

Why not err on the side of caution when it comes to public safety?

On March 22, 2011, the drywaller was in his Mississauga kitchen with and his dental hygienist wife Maria Rosaria Avidago. She’d just baked a cake and Victor Avidago seemed to be going to cut a slice when he suddenly turned the blade on his wife of 18 years.

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Their 13-year-old daughter was home sick from school that day and begged him to stop, but he continued to stab her mother 46 times.

Neighbours could hear the mom of two screaming, “Help me. He is killing me. Please help me.”

When Peel Regional Police arrived, Victor Avidago kept them at bay with a knife for 10 long minutes and demanded, “Shoot me,” as his 43-year-old wife bled out on the kitchen floor.

Maria Rosario Avidago, 43, was brutally stabbed to death in the kitchen of her Mississauga home in 2011 and her husband, Victor Avidago, was later deemed not criminally responsible for her murder. Photo by Facebook tribute (screenshot)

Found NCR due to paranoid schizophrenia

Charged with second-degree murder, he was found NCR in 2013 due to his paranoid schizophrenia at the time..

Originally held in the secure unit at CAMH, the ORB report said Victor Avidago improved with anti-psychotic medication and eventually progressed to supportive housing in 2019 and then independent housing two years later.

But his stable mental health began to decline at the end of 2023 when he stopped taking his meds after contracting covid-related pneumonia.

“On Feb. 5, 2024, one of Mr. Avidago’s daughters contacted his case manager to inform her that family members had found knives hidden around his apartment and they were now concerned for theirs and their father’s safety. Mr. Avidago was brought to CAMH by police. He was eventually transferred to Mount Sinai’s General Medicine unit and then to their Inpatient Psychiatry unit on February 20, 2024,” the ORB decision states.

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Back on his anti-psychotic medication, Victor Avidago improved and returned to living in his apartment while under the care of his psychiatrist and monitoring by the Forensic Outpatient Services.

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Admitted to CAMH last month when psychotic symptoms increased

But in January 2026, he reported an increase in his psychotic symptoms. And on May 5, after he hadn’t left his apartment for days because of increasing paranoia about being out in the public, Avidago was admitted to CAMH pursuant to the Mental Health Act and detained on the Psychosis Recovery Treatment Unit as a voluntary patient.

“Mr. Avidago remained a voluntary patient at the time of the hearing,” the decision states with absolutely no irony at all.

When his psychiatrist was asked why he was recommending an absolute discharge for a patient currently hospitalized, he assured the ORB that Avidago demonstrated insight into his illness and a readiness to go to hospital if needed.

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Which is commendable, of course. But why the rush to grant an absolute discharge when he’s clearly struggling with his mental health and his medication is being adjusted yet again?

The lone dissenter on the five-member ORB panel said it was concerning that Avidago has a history of stopping his meds when he doesn’t like the side effects and it’s too soon to know his reaction to his newly increased dosage.

“When paranoid, as we have seen in the index offence, his violence can be lethal or it can be quietly demonstrated through the hiding of knives at his apartment as in 2024,” she warned. “In the view of the minority, there are too many unknowns regarding the ongoing mental stability of Mr. Avidago to grant an Absolute Discharge.”

But her sage advice was ignored.

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