A man who murdered his former girlfriend and her boyfriend on the street outside their Langley City apartment has been denied day parole.
William James McCotter, the man convicted of the 2001 murders of John Cleaveland Heasman, 37, and Linda Lee Anderson, 39, is considered in the “highest category to commit a new domestic assault,” according to just-released decisions by a parole board panel and a board appeal division hearing.
In a five-page written Oct. 5 decision denying day parole, the panel said McCotter, now 57, had developed a “negative fixation” on his female parole officer, forcing a change in his case management team (CMT).
It was “consistent with past concerns about your behavior towards female staff” the panel commented, describing McCotter as “pushing boundaries and inappropriate behavior.”
The decision noted a psychologist has assessed McCotter’s overall risk “for violent re-offending, and in particular spousal violence, as high.”
READ MORE: Man who killed Langley couple with 2×4 denied parole, again
McCotter appealed the October ruling to the parole board appeal division, which upheld the denial of parole in a Jan. 20. decision.
While he had complained the board did not consider a 92-page submission he had filed two days after the hearing, the appeal panel ruled that McCotter had “had more than enough time” to submit his documents, particularly since he had said, in August, that he would need three to five days to complete them.
McCotter was picked up almost immediately after he brutally kicked and bludgeoned his ex-girlfriend, Anderson, and her common law partner, Heasman, on Dec. 2, 2001.
He used a 2×4 and steel-toed boots to beat and kick the pair to death outside their Langley City apartment.
Anderson had a brief relationship with McCotter a few years before she started going out with Heasman.
A year before the murders, McCotter kicked in the door of Anderson’s apartment and threatened Heasman, the decision related.
McCotter pleaded guilty to criminal harassment and received one year’s probation on condition that he had no contact with his former girlfriend.
Despite that, he contacted her on two occasions, then claimed she willingly visited him.
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.
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.
Victim impact statements describe the “profound loss and pain” family members of the victims continue to suffer, the board told McCotter.
“The victims speak of having a hole in the their hearts and having to put on a brave face at Christmas and other special days. They speak of how their families have been broken and how time does not heal. The victims also express their fear for the community should you ever be released.”
Previous parole reports show McCotter has referred to the murders as “the incident” or “the fight” and tried to justify his actions by saying most people believe in “tit for tat.”
Is there more to the story? Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
