A B.C. man who has spent more years of his life in prison than outside it has once again been denied day parole as he serves a life term for two first-degree murders.
Derik Lord was just 17 years old in October 1990 when he and fellow Victoria-area high school student David Muir carried out a plan by a third teen, Darren Huenemann, to kill Huenemann’s mother and grandmother.
Sharon Huenemann was 47 and her mother, Doris Leatherbarrow, was 69 when they were beaten and stabbed in the kitchen of Leatherbarrow’s Tsawwassen home as they prepared to serve the two teens dinner.
Darren Huenemann attended the same Saanich high school as Lord and Muir and had promised them cars, homes and monthly salaries if they killed his relatives and cleared the way for what Huenemann believed would be a roughly $3-million inheritance.
All three teens were convicted in 1992.
Lord, now 46, has applied multiple times for parole, but his latest application was denied on Sept. 10, in part because the parole board found he continues to deny his role in the murders.
Victim impact statements read during the parole hearing at the Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford, where Lord is being held, show the Huenemann and Leatherbarrow families still oppose his release.
“They express their trauma and psychological harm as well as the deep loss they continue to suffer as a result of not only the deaths of their loved ones but your refusal to accept responsibility,” the Parole Board of Canada said.
Lord and Muir were each sentenced to life in prison but were eligible to apply for parole within 10 years, while Huenemann was not eligible for parole for 25 years.
READ MORE: Chilliwack father of high-profile murderer has trespassing conviction upheld
Muir admitted his guilt and was granted full parole in 2003.
Huenemann, who now uses the last name of Gowan, his biological father’s surname, applied for parole in 2017 but was denied and remains behind bars at a correctional facility in Quebec. (CTV)
The Canadian Press
