THE FAMILY of a woman stabbed to death in a southside residence in 1998 is once again mounting a campaign to oppose his parole application.
Denied three times already, this will be the fourth time Christopher Alexander has applied for parole since being sentenced to life for the Dec. 9, 1998 murder of Linda LeFranc.
Alexander, 17 at the time of the murder and a neighbour of LeFranc’s, stabbed her more than 80 times with a hunting knife after breaking into her house.
LeFranc, then 36, was found by her seven-year-old daughter when she awoke the next morning.
Arrested following an extensive RCMP undercover operation in which an officer posing as the “Mr. Big” of a criminal gang got Alexander to admit to the murder, Alexander was sentenced following a trial here in 2002.
He is now eligible to apply for parole at set times and his last application was heard and denied in January 2012.
Although the parole board at that time noted that Alexander had made progress in realizing the extent of his crime and that he has been taking programs and undergoing counselling, it found his “level of insight, while improving, is still not adequate as the motive for killing the victim remains unclear.”
In an eight-page decision, two members of the National Parole Board of Canada assessed Alexander as being a “moderate risk to reoffend violently” by being either on day parole or full parole.
Alexander’s parole hearing is due to take place in late June and, if granted, his parole could begin as early as July, said Anita Johnstone, a sister of LeFranc’s who has been the driving force in opposing his release.
As it is, Johnstone said Alexander has had approximately 130 escorted temporary absences and five 14-day unescorted temporary absences.
Hard copies of the petition are circulating in Kitimat, LeFranc’s hometown, and in Terrace.
Johnstone and family members have travelled to every one of Alexander’s hearings, held at the Fraser Valley institution where he is being held.
“Our intent is not to exploit or sensationalize Linda’s death but to justify our extreme concern and our continued position that Christopher Alexander remains a serious threat to public safety and should never be released,” she said.
The family has also started an online petition, http://www.change.org/petitions/national-parole-board-of-canada-lefranc-no-parole-for-christopher-maurice-alexander-petition