The family of murder victim Linda Le Franc is accusing Corrections Services Canada of putting offenders’ rights ahead of public safety, following the transfer of Le Franc’s killer from a medium security prison to the Kwikwexwelhp healing village near Mission.
“Christopher Alexander is incapable of comprehending [his crime], [he has] not taken genuine responsibility for his actions, nor does he feel he is required to adhere to imposed conditions,” the family said in a statement. “Once again, it’s an example of our Criminal Justice System being more concerned with offenders rights…than that of Linda’s rights, and the risk he poses to [public] safety.”
With petitions and victim impact statements, Le Franc’s family has fought Alexander’s release at nine or 10 parole hearings in as many years. Le Franc’s sister, Anita Johnstone, has attended each one and says her sister’s killer has never shown remorse other than for himself, nor has he offered an explanation for the crime, except for the experience of taking someone’s life.
“He tells the parole board he wants to focus on getting better, focus on his Aboriginal studies and that’s great. But as soon he’s denied parole, he appeals. When he loses that, he makes an application to go to the healing village, because he knows he can have practically unlimited escorted and unescorted leaves. This is what he does. His only focus is to get out. It’s not about addressing the issues.
“That’s been my primary concern all along. He’s not addressed what he’s done and why. He’s incapable of comprehending any of this.”
In 2002 Alexander was handed a life sentence for the brutal 1998 killing of Linda Le Franc, a single mother of one in Terrace. After an elaborate police sting operation, the courts heard Alexander, then 17-years old, armed himself with knife and accessed Le Franc’s townhouse with a key he knew was hidden outside the front door. After a brief chase inside, he stabbed Le Franc 83 times. Le Franc’s body was found in the morning by her five-year-old daughter.
A clear motive was never established.
In 2016 Alexander was charged with sexual assault while on parole. The charges were stayed when the court couldn’t locate the victim. Nonetheless, Alexander’s parole was suspended based on this and numerous other breaches of conditions, and placed in medium-security prison at Mountainside Institute.
Earlier this year the parole board denied his appeal for parole partly on the grounds of his “deceitful behaviour” and risky relationships during previous releases. At the time, Alexander made it known that his goal was to work towards returning to Kwikwexwelhp, according to transcripts.
CSC did not give Le Franc’s family an explanation of why Alexander was accepted back to minimum security, and for privacy reasons CSC would not comment on the matter with Black Press Media.
“By now he knows how to work the system,” Johnstone says. “I’ve seen first hand what he is capable of. To not address those issues, to not be in counselling to address the underlying issues that caused him to do the things he’s done is frightening enough. But to know there’s an inept system that’s not monitoring these individuals approximately is unforgivable. We’ve been told numerous times his supervision has fallen through the cracks. We hear this every hearing—every one. He’s not being properly monitored when he’s released.
“Alexander is afforded yet another opportunity to circumvent the system and reside in a Healing Village. We deserve better.”