A man who used a 2×4 and steel-toed boots to beat and kick his former girlfriend and her boyfriend to death outside their Langley City apartment remains “callous and indifferent towards the victims” after nearly two decades in prison.
Those were the words used by a two-person Parole Board of Canada appeal division panel to describe William James McCotter, the man convicted of the 2001 murders of John Cleaveland Heasman, 37, and Linda Lee Anderson, 39.
After McCotter was denied day parole last December, he filed a challenge seeking to overturn the ruling, disputing a claim that he had shown little remorse over the killings, referring to the murders as “the incident” or “the fight” and even attempting to justify his actions by saying most people believe in “tit for tat.”
In a written decision dated May 20 that was provided to the Langley Advance Times on Tuesday, June 11, the appeal panel stated a review of an audio recording of the hearing confirmed what he said.
It noted McCotter is “challenged by a personality disorder that indicates paranoia and distrust of others” and that his most recent psychological assessment put him at a “high risk for violent recidivism, in particular for spousal violence.”
Based on that, it was reasonable “to note with concern that it would be difficult for you to develop insight into your thinking and behaviour due to your rigidly held ideas,” the panel stated.
In the Dec. 11 decision it was noted that McCotter continues to portray himself as a victim in an abusive relationship who eventually reacted violently.
McCotter managed to delay his trial until April 2006 by repeatedly firing lawyers. He was found guilty in June of that year on two counts of second-degree murder, which carries an automatic life sentence.
READ MORE: Double murderer continues to victimize families from jail
In 2010, McCotter appealed his conviction. The challenge was dismissed in 2012.
In 2013, Holly Chamberlain, Heasman’s sister told Black Press McCotter was continuing to victimize her family with his legal maneuvering.
“McCotter is a master manipulator, and he runs the system,” Chamberlain said.
“This kind of craziness has to stop. It’s just not fair to the families.”
McCotter was picked up almost immediately after he brutally kicked and bludgeoned his ex-girlfriend, Anderson, and her common law partner, Heasman, to death outside their Langley City apartment on Dec. 2, 2001.
A restraining order against McCotter had recently run out.
Anderson had a brief relationship with McCotter a few years before going out with Heasman.
His trial heard that on the day of the murders he stalked the couple and purchased steel toed boots. He parked outside their apartment, got out and used the boots to kick both his victims in the head repeatedly.
He also beat the pair with a 2×4 that he pulled out of a truck parked at the scene.
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Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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