The families of two teenage girls tortured and murdered by Paul Bernardo in the early 1990s are calling on the Parole Board of Canada to keep him behind bars, in their moving statements on the repercussions these tragedies had on their lives.
Posted at 11:48 a.m.
A parole hearing is underway Tuesday for Bernardo, who is serving an indeterminate life sentence for the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of 15-year-old Kristen French and of 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy in the early 1990s near St. Catharines, Ontario.
In her statement, Donna French, Kristen French’s mother, spoke of the “senseless and brutal” loss her family suffered.
Leslie Mahaffy’s brother, Ryan, who was a young boy when his sister was murdered, also testified about the impacts of this brutal disappearance.
Bernardo, who was twice denied parole in the past, was also convicted of manslaughter in the December 1990 death of the 15-year-old sister of his then-wife, Karla Homolka. , Tammy.
Bernardo’s parole hearing is taking place at the medium security La Macaza establishment, in the Laurentians. His transfer from a maximum security prison in Ontario caused a public outcry last year.
Tim Danson, the attorney representing the French and Mahaffy families, said the Parole Board initially refused his clients to present their statements in person at the hearing in La Macaza.
The Commission reversed its decision, but according to Me Danson, the lack of time to organize the trip to Quebec meant that only Leslie Mahaffy’s mother could be present Tuesday, while the other representatives of the victims will make their statement remotely.
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