By Reason of Insanity: The David Michael Krueger Story

by Mark Bourrie

In the summer of 1993, people in Ontario were shocked by one of the most bizarre murders in the province’s history. A patient at the Brockville psychiatric hospital was brutally killed in a forest grove on the grounds of the institution. One of the killers, a nearly blind psychiatric patient, walked into a nearby police station and turned himself in. The other murderer lay near the body in a sleeping bag, drugged into unconsciousness. Police found that the myopic suspect is one of the Canada’s most dangerous killers, David Michael Krueger. His accomplice was Bruce Hamill, a murderer who had been freed after years of treatment at Penatanguishene’s Oak Ridge Institution for the criminally insane. Brockville hospital authorities had let Hamill escort Krueger on his first day pass in thirty-five years. How could this killing have happened? The bizarre story of Krueger’s life unfolds in this tightly-written book. It explores how Krueger allowed his strange fantasies to run his own life and how he was able to dupe psychiatrists, lawyers, and fellow inmates of the country’s toughest institution into doing his bidding.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

Reviews

[Heep · Rating 3 out of 5]

I live in Brockville and my work had me cross paths with Kreuger several times while he was here. The last time he was being led into court past the cells of some younger inmates, who were taunting him mercilessly. Kreuger was, in jail parlance, a "goof" - a child molester. He was entitled to no respect in that community and got none. He looked utterly deflated. In fact, the memory stays with me because I have seen few people look so low in my life.

The book captures Kreuger's character quite well - he was bright and thought himself to be smarter than virtually everyone he came into contact with. This conceit, to my way of thinking, was based more on his amorality and manipulativeness than real genius. He seemed to measure smarts by the ability to bend others to his will. This would evidently equip him to run for US president nowadays. Unfortunately, it really just demonstrates his psychopathy. He was largely incapable of showing empathy. Mind you, the book amply demonstrates how his early childhood set him on this course.

The book is grim reading. The author is at times compassionate and sensitive, and at others seemingly advocates tough justice. He is very critical of deinstutionalizing mental health care. The book is 20 years old now. There have been significant advances in forensic psychiatry, and deinstitutionalization has succeeded despite early mistakes, like with Kreuger, so I didn't make too much of the editorializing. I doubt I will read many more books like this as it is too much like work but it is an interesting expose on its subject.

[Fishface · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolutely chilling story of a kid who should have gotten help much sooner than he did -- by the time they got him to treatment it was far too late. And the treatment he got sounds like the worst kind of nonsense. The proof is in the putting and look what he did the first chance he got...

[Teri53 · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Cassie Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly kept me hooked which is hard to do with my ADHD. Somethings are outdated but it was written decades ago so I’ll give it a pass.
I really enjoyed Mr. Bourrie’s style of writing and felt it was entertaining yet unpretentious.
A truly interesting read if you are into true crime or even psychology. It’s short (to my dismay) but a great read from start to finish.