The man convicted of ordering the murders of Lisa Dudley and Guthrie McKay – who were gunned down 12 years ago in their Mission home – is now on parole.
Tom Holden, the fourth and final man charged in the 2008 deaths, was sentenced in February 2017 to 10 years, minus 145 days for time served, after being convicted of conspiracy to commit murder.
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Less than four years later, he is out on parole, a fact that doesn’t sit well with Dudley’s parents.
Mark Surakka, Dudley’s stepfather, said he was unhappy, but not surprised, when he was informed of Holden’s parole.
“All those processes are not for the family of the person that has been killed. It’s for the perpetrators, the killers.”
Surakka said Holden was already released on day parole in November 2019, but breached his conditions. Now he’s been granted full parole.
READ: Man involved in Mission couple’s murder on day parole
“I know they have eligibility for parole after a third of their sentence, but he already broke his parole once,” Surakka said.
He said the sentence didn’t reflect the gravity of the crime.
“Three years and eight months – that’s what he serves for a double killing that he ordered.”
Surakka believes the court system is broken and people need to pay attention to what is going on.
“Justice is negotiable,” he said, referring to plea deals and concurrent, rather than consecutive, sentences.
“Concurrent sentences devalue human life.”
Dudley, 37, and McKay, 33, were shot in a home on Greenwood Drive in rural Mission on Sept. 18, 2008. A neighbour found them four days later.
McKay was pronounced dead at the scene after having been shot three times, while Dudley, who had been shot once in the head and once in the neck, was still alive. She was airlifted to hospital, where she later died.
Four men were eventually charged: Jack Woodruff (sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years), Justin MacKinnon (sentenced to seven years), Bruce Main (sentenced to eight years) and Holden.
Former Mission RCMP officer Cpl. Mike White was reprimanded and docked one day’s pay in 2011 for failing to properly investigate a shots-fired call at the Greenwood Drive home.
A man had reported hearing six gunshots and a crashing noise the night of the shooting. White reported to the Greenwood home, but left the scene after being there for about 10 minutes and did not follow up the next day.
Holden’s parole comes with several conditions, including a prohibition on consuming drugs and an order to avoid people associated with crime and the victims’ families. He also has a no-go restriction to the areas of Harrison Hot Springs, Agassiz and Chilliwack as well as other restrictions.
It’s not enough for Surakka.
“Justice has not been served,” he said.
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