Man who bound, murdered Vancouver Island teen still a risk to public: parole board
Kimberly Proctor’s killer is still ‘mismanaging emotions,’ has had ‘temper tantrums’
by Shalu Mehta*Warning: This story contains graphic details about a murder.
One of the two men involved in the murder of Langford teen Kimberly Proctor was denied parole earlier this month, and the decision from the Parole Board of Canada says he would still be a risk to the public’s safety if released on full parole.
In March 2010, then 16-year-old Kruse Wellwood and 17-year-old Cameron Moffat bound, sexually assaulted, choked, gagged and placed Proctor, 18, in a freezer. The next day, they put her body in a duffel bag and took it to an area near the Galloping Goose to burn it. They were handed adult sentences of life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years for premeditated rape and murder.
A report from the parole board says both Wellwood and Moffat were interested in dating Proctor but she denied them both. Wellwood contacted Proctor the night before she was reported missing indicating his intention to apologize.
Wellwood, who is now 26, faced a hearing on May 15 to determine his eligibility for full parole. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Proctor’s family members phoned in to listen to the hearing and deliver victim impact statements.
READ ALSO: Kimberly Proctor’s killer denied full parole
In August, Wellwood was denied day parole. The parole board’s decision says a clinician did a psychological assessment of him in July and “was unable to envision a scenario where [Wellwood] would be in the community without supervision.” The clinician noted the severity of Wellwood’s psychopathology and lack of progress despite his completion of the high intensity sex offender program.
Wellwood began displaying problematic behaviour in school in Grade 3, the report says, and he met Moffat in Grade 5. Wellwood was a defiant, argumentative, verbally abusive and sometimes violent teen and was verbally and physically abusive towards his mother, the report says. He and Moffat shared information and fantasies related to sexuality and violence.
About two weeks after Wellwood’s August hearing for day parole, the parole board report says he met with members of his case management team to discuss it but the meeting had to be rescheduled due to its length.
“You reacted by slouching down off the chair and laying face down on the floor,” the report says. “While being escorted to your cell, you began crying aggressively punching yourself in the face multiple times.”
Wellwood has had “temper tantrums” according to the report and has reacted with self-harming behaviours like hitting himself in the head and pulling his hair. He refused to attend an emotions management group, saying he did not want to listen to other people’s problems.
He has, however, gained support from the prison’s chaplain and a sponsor as well as individuals in the religious community.
The parole board’s report says Wellwood’s plan is to reside with the chaplain or at a community residential facility on the lower mainland if on full parole, however, his case management team says living with the chaplain is not possible and that he is not supported for any form of conditional release. The report also says the July psychological assessment shows concerns with Wellwood’s “deflection and minimization, sexual sadism, level of psychopathology and high risk to re-offend.”
His case management team also says his level of accountability remains low.
READ ALSO: Proctor’s killers troubled, angry from the start
If full parole were to be granted, it is recommended that he not be allowed on or near Vancouver Island without prior written approval of his parole supervisor, that he has no direct or indirect contact with the victims of any family members of the victims, that he report all intimate sexual and non-sexual relationships and friendships with females and he follow a treatment plan or program in the area of sexual deviancy.
“The [case management team] views your episodes with mismanaged emotions as demonstrating deterioration in terms of overall stability and readiness for any form of conditional release,” the report says.
The report says Wellwood was open and understanding that full parole would not be supported but said he is confident in his ability to seek assistance and be successful under community supervision. He also “acknowledged the extreme violence and sexual deviancy” in his actions and said he wants to learn more about the diagnoses and labels attributed to him in assessments.
Full parole for Wellwood was denied due to his “insufficient gains in risk reduction.”
“Your case calls for a very gradual, closely monitored and structured release,” the report says. “Your release on full parole at this time would present undue risk to the public’s safety.”