MP still pressing to put Legebokoff back in maximum security

Cariboo-Prince George MP Todd Doherty is continuing the fight to return convicted serial killer Cody Legebokoff to maximum security prison.

The Conservative MP said Monday he has written a letter to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale outlining his concerns with a decision that put Legobokoff in medium security starting in late January.

In it, he said Legebokoff "brutally murdered" four young women and has "never taken any responsibility for his crimes or shown any remorse."

The body of one victim, Natasha Montgomery, has never been found, Doherty noted.

"Despite numerous attempts to uncover the location of Natasha's remains, Legebokoff has refused to provide any information and has in fact, used this piece of information as leverage to better his own personal circumstances," Doherty said.

He also passed along a letter from Brendan Fitzpatrick, who was in charge of the B.C. RCMP major crime section during Legebokoff's spree.

Fitzpatrick urged Doherty to demand answers from Goodale on why Legebokoff has been "given this generous benefit."

"The Minister needs to account for why the victim's families were not consulted and why the police had no input into this placement," Fitpatrick wrote. "He needs to account for why the youngest Serial Murderer in Canadian history is provided the luxury of a new, less secure environment. The victim's families have barely had a chance for their grief to numb. Now they are being victimized again."

Goodale's office could not be immediately reached for comment Monday.

In a statement provided to the Citizen in late February, when Doherty first raise the issue in the House of Commons, a Corrections Canada spokesperson said a "gradual and controlled release" has proven to be a better way than keeping offenders in maximum security institutions to the end of their sentence.

A medium-security institution has the same security safeguards as maximum-security, but allows for more interaction among offenders, she also said.

Legebokoff was sentenced in Sept. 16, 2014 to life in prison without eligibility to apply for parole for 25 years for the murders of Montgomery, 24, Jill Stuchenko, 35, Cynthia Maas, 35, and Loren Leslie, 15.

The clock on his sentence began on Nov. 27, 2013, the day he was arrested. He will be 45 years old when he can first apply for parole.

Moreover, he will be eligible for day parole after 22 years and, because he was arrested before the Conservative government eliminated the so-called "faint hope" provision, Legebokoff can still apply after 15 years for a reduction in the wait.