Thomas is charged with second-degree murder. Police identified the victim as Emily Sanchez’s girlfriend. Bryan said Sanche, a 25-year-old psychology graduate from the University of Saskatchewan, hoped her detailed outline would help Thomas get hospitalized and be evaluated for his increasingly bizarre behavior. Thomas’s parents, Brian and Sandy, were concerned about his escalating delusions and were frustrated by their inability to get the medical help they thought they needed – both before and after Sandche’s knife. Thomas spent more than a month in suicide custody at Saskatoon Prison after the stabbing – even though the court had ordered him to be sent to the state’s central psychiatric hospital – because there was not enough space. The CBC contacted Sanche’s parents, who submitted a statement. “While we look forward to understanding the events that led to our daughter’s tragic death, we believe it is inappropriate for anyone, including the CBC and us, to comment until evidence from the police investigation becomes available,” the statement said. Sanche prepared the schedule document on Saturday, February 19, with Bryan planning to take his 25-year-old son to the emergency room at Royal University Hospital the next day. It would be their son’s third visit to the ER since December. Brian and Sandy Hub continue to support their son. (Don Somers / CBC)
A text to Bryan by Sanche, timed 4:48 p.m. CST on February 19, indicates that it had typed the document and included a Google Drive link to where it could be viewed. But Brian never managed to get his son to the hospital. “It was early Sunday morning when they called me,” Brian said in an interview. “Whatever happened, it happened. And somehow she dialed my number and I did not hear her, but I could hear Thomas screaming in the background that they were out to pick him up.” He is there, help me get them. ‘ And that will stay in my memory forever. “ Brian called 911 and went to the young couple’s home on Main Street. Both had already been taken to hospital. In addition to assaulting his partner, Thomas had also cut his throat and stabbed himself in the chest, Brian said. Sanche, who had been on a one-year postgraduate course in counseling psychology, died 25 days later. Thomas was initially charged with aggravated assault, but police said Monday that the charge had been upgraded to second-degree murder. “All of this could have been avoided. All of this,” Sandy said. “These two children, their lives are over and ruined because no one would listen to them. I would like to see the health system show some responsibility for this.”

“They were a wonderful couple”

Thomas met Sanchez in high school and they started dating after graduation. She received a high school diploma in psychology from the U of S and then went on to pursue a postgraduate degree at the University of Lethbridge, while Thomas had just completed a double degree in psychology and sociology. “They had a lot of ideas in the same spirit, very socially responsible ideas, progressive ideas and ideals without exclusions,” Sandy said. “They were a wonderful couple, very much in love with each other.” The young couple moved together in the summer of 2021. Brian said his son began having “intrusive thoughts” in the late fall. “Just any thoughts that were not really true,” Brian said. “He spoke to her [in December] and let her know she had these annoying thoughts. And then that is where [she] and Thomas came to us and warned us. ” The timeline begins in early December, when Thomas began to “remember” things that had never happened. These included intimidation and rumors that he was a predator. The CBC reviewed the schedule, along with dated and dated texts. Later that month, Thomas believed he was being spied on and had a dispute with police, the document said. By January, he was telling her that someone had broken into their place at night and was circling objects and that the people he knew had been replaced by “fake” ones, he said. Sanche took Thomas to the emergency room at Royal University Hospital on December 18 and then again on February 9. The first trip came after talking to Thomas’s psychologist, who was worried he was in a “mental health crisis” and had to go to a hospital, the schedule said. “She could have gone with him and tried to explain to him what was going on but, in her words, she was ignored,” Brian said. Thomas Hamp’s mental health became an issue in the fall of 2021. (Thomas Hamp / Facebook)
The schedule shows that Thomas met with psychologists and psychiatrists at different points, but never went further than those initial meetings. To further complicate matters, he was already visiting a psychologist and taking medication for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). “[Doctors] he said he had severe OCD and continued to take his medication. “And the second είπε did not say any sign of psychosis, so far it seemed to be fine,” said Brian. Sandy said her son did not necessarily appear as someone in crisis. “He is very cheerful and so people got away with it,” he said. “And so those of us who love him could see the signs of agitation or anxiety accumulating in him. But someone who does not know him can not magically read his mind.” Sandy added that they just wanted to take care of their son. “We hoped he could be admitted to the Dube Center, where he could be in a safe place and get some professional help. We hope to visit a psychiatrist and help determine what is going on, so that these things can be treated medically first, and “then through counseling,” he said. “Our mission at that point was to take him into care where they could take care of him.” From December until the February attack, Thomas had been to the emergency room twice, had a phone call with a psychiatrist, had seen his family doctor and had seen a counselor. “We just wanted someone to finally listen to us and him and hear that this is a young man who needs help. And they just didn’t do it,” Sandy said. Sandy said there was no indication that Thomas was violent towards himself or anyone else.

Vacuum storage

The Hamps say the health care system continues to disappoint their son – even after the deadly attack. Since his arrest in February, Thomas has remained at the Saskatoon Penitentiary. A district court judge ordered that he be sent to Saskatchewan Hospital in North Battleford for a psychiatric evaluation, but was instead sent to prison because there were no beds available at the hospital. “This boy had what we think is a psychotic break. He was injured. His girlfriend was fatally injured,” Sandy said. “They took him to the penitentiary where they put him in a prison cell, still not mentally stable from psychosis or whatever. It all started. So, from a traumatic situation he went to add more and more layers of trauma. And now, a month later , is still in the penitentiary. Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford officially opened in March 2019, with 188 psychiatric rehabilitation beds and a 96-room safe ward for mentally ill offenders. However, not all beds are working. (Bonnie Allen / CBC)
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) said it could not disclose specific information about any admission or patient. Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford, the county’s main inpatient mental health unit, includes 188 psychiatric rehabilitation beds and a 96-room safe ward for mentally ill offenders. Government figures from April 1 show that 48 of the 96 correction beds and 166 of the 188 non-correctional beds were operational. SHA spokesman James Winkel said that “not all beds are operational yet due to certain factors, such as patient flow, patient placement assessments and recruitment.” “This [patient] “The number changes regularly due to layoffs, new admissions and is affected by staffing levels and COVID case management,” Winkel said. Brian said that’s not good enough. “What I see is that mental health illnesses are very common and there is no way to help,” he said. “As a society we are measured by how we care for the vulnerable and people with mental illness. And we fail.”