Chad Edward Bucknell was 14 years old and James Ruscitti was 15 when they murdered four people at a home in Buffalo Creek in June 1996.
On March 31, 2011, the National Parole Board voted to give Bucknell full parole.
However, Bucknell will have to report to his parole officer for the rest of his life and abide by standard release conditions. The board also imposed several conditions on his freedom.
• He must follow psychological counselling to assist with emotional and reintegration issues.
• He must abstain from intoxicants.
• He must not associate with anyone he knows or has reason to believe is involved in criminal activity and/or substance misuse.
Almost a year later to the day the board voted to give Bucknell full parole, they voted to remove the psychological counselling condition, but the other two conditions remain in place.
At the March 29, 2012 hearing, the board gave its reasons for its decision.
It noted Bucknell had found gainful employment in the construction industry and had been promoted by his employer.
He has also participated in psychological counselling to deal with emotional, re-integration and childhood trauma issues.
The board noted Bucknell hasn’t incurred any known breaches or suspensions while on the current release program.
Now 29 years old, Bucknell was serving a life minimum sentence for second degree murder for helping Ruscitti murder his adoptive parents and two boarders in an execution-style killing, leaving an infant child of one of the victims alone, but physically unharmed, in the home until a family member discovered the bodies.
He was sentenced on June 9, 1997, with parole eligibility set at seven years from the date of the arrest.
Bucknell was released on day parole in April 2002, and since then, his parole privileges were revoked or suspended seven times because of breaches of not abstaining from drugs and/or alcohol, as well as breaching his non-association special conditions.
Bucknell appeared before the parole board on March 4, 2011 and it was determined at that time he would continue with day parole.
Special conditions imposed on the day parole were similar to those that restricting his freedom and providing protection for the public now.
Twenty-seven days later, the board felt it was safe to grant him full parole and voted accordingly.
