One of two men responsible for the brutal sexual assault, torture and murder of Victoria-area teen Kimberly Proctor has been denied day parole.
Earlier this year, Kruse Wellwood applied for day parole from Mission Institution, a medium-security prison where he is an inmate. On Wednesday the Parole Board of Canada denied his request.
Proctor’s aunt, Jo-Ann Landolt, said the parole board did not find Wellwood psychologically fit for day release.
“I didn’t expect anything else,” said Landolt. “All of us really didn’t expect him to be released.”
But that doesn’t mean the hearing process wasn’t extremely difficult and emotional for the family, she added.
In 2010, 18-year-old Kimberly Proctor was sexually assaulted and murdered by Wellwood, then 16, and Cameron Moffat, then 17.
After learning of Wellwood’s parole application in May, Proctor’s family released a statement re-iterating the horrific nature of her assault and the final moments of her life.
Proctor’s father, Fred, said he was told his daughter was tortured, bound and thrown in a deep freezer while alive, eventually succumbing to asphyxiation. The next day her killers put her body in a hockey bag, took her to a ravine and lit her body on fire.
READ ALSO: Proctor’s killers troubled, angry from the start
Landolt said members of the teen’s family prepared statements and sat through the hearing.
“All in all, I mean, it’s been difficult,” she said. “But at the end of the day, we all felt good about it. He’s where he should be, and this just confirms that he will be in there for along time.”
Landolt said she and the family feel positive and are hoping Wellwood does not apply for parole again.
“If he does we’re just going to go again,” she said. “It’s important for the family to be there to support Kimmy after everything she went through.”
The Parole Board of Canada has not yet responded to a request for the parole decision.
nina.grossman@blackpress.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
