Wife- killer Murphy denied parole

The killer who called himself “Scary Larry” will remain in prison after the Parole Board of Canada denied his application for early release.

Lawrence Edward Murphy was left disfigured and brain damaged from shooting himself in the head after he killed his common- law wife, Deena McLeod, inside their Temple home on July 18, 1996. McLeod’s teenage son was home at the time and heard the shots that killed his mother. The boy ran downstairs just as Murphy pressed the muzzle of a rifle under his chin and shot himself.

“At your hearing today, one of your victims spoke to the board about how ‘ your actions and your words will haunt us for the rest of our lives’ and how your ‘ choices were so terrible that they will ripple through generations and decades to come,’” the parole board wrote in its decision dated on Oct. 29.

Murphy’s suicide bid after killing McLeod destroyed part of his jaw, mouth, nose, his right eye and part of the frontal lobe of his brain. Surgeons used tissue from Murphy’s thigh to reconstruct his nose. His resulting appearance prompted Murphy to call himself “Scary Larry” while testifying at his murder trial.

Brain damage also left Murphy with no memory of the event, prompting his defence lawyer to argue the charge should be dropped because his client could not give a full defence. The strategy didn’t work and a judge convicted Murphy of second- degree murder and sentenced him to life with no chance of parole for 13 years.

At trial, court heard McLeod was planning to leave Murphy, who had been physically and verbally abusive over the course of their fouryear relationship. The prosecution said Murphy treated McLeod, a well- liked receptionist at an industrial equipment supplier, as his “possession.”

During his time in prison, the parole board noted Murphy, now in his mid- 50s, has become a mostly compliant prisoner who has completed courses for substance abuse and is enrolled in animal therapy. He has served much of his sentence at a “psychiatric facility” due to his mental health issues and physical needs.

Recent psychological and psychiatric assessments rated Murphy as a low risk to reoffend, but the board said his inability to control his emotions — a byproduct of his brain damage — remains a concern.