A Saanich man who’s been severing a life sentence for the first-degree murder of two people in 1990 has had his day parole extended another six months.

Derik Christopher Lord, 47, was 17 when he and another high school student, David Muir, carried out a plan by a third teen, Darren Huenemann, to kill Huenemann’s mother and grandmother. Lord was 17 when he and another high school student, David Muir, carried out a plan by a third teen, Darren Huenemann, to kill Huenemann’s mother and grandmother

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.

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Lord has consistently denied his involvement with the killings. He was also unsuccessful in appealing his convictions or the accompanying sentence.

According to the Parole Board of Canada’s decision, during Lord’s lengthy incarceration, he displayed “non-complaint behaviour” in the early years, which landed him with numerous institutional charges. Lord’s last disciplinary charge was in 2006.

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In 2008, Lord was transferred to minimum security but two years later he was involuntarily transferred to medium security because of a reported lack of progress and unwillingness to work with the case management team. In mid 2017, he was classified as a minimum-security offender once again and returned to an institution of that security level, where he remained until he was released for day parole back in March.

The board stated it was satisfied that Lord had negotiated a successful initial transition to the community on day parole. It was noted that during Lord’s hearing in March, he displayed “occasions of arrogance and condescension,” along with an “evident absence of remorse.” While remorse is not directly linked to risk reduction, Lord is able to demonstrate insight into how his personal communication style is “easily perceived as rude, arrogant and condescending.”

The board notes what Lord describes as a “chaotic” childhood that saw his family move around a lot, leading to a struggle for him to make friends in different schools he attended. Lord told the board he felt socially isolated and had poor self-esteem with a history of self-harm.

Throughout his incarceration, Lord discovered his Indigenous heritage and identifies as Metis. His cultural practice played a large role in granting his day parole after Lord appealed the denial of parole in February in part for the board’s failure to recognize the benefits of him engaging with his Aboriginal culture.

Lord’s day parole will be continued for another six months, but leave privileges were not authorized as he is to focus entirely on trauma recovery programs, vocational upgrading and enhancing his community supports.

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