Man who killed fellow inmate has his release revoked

A man who fatally beat a fellow inmate in the weight room of a Maple Ridge jail seven years ago has had his statutory release revoked for repeatedly breaching his conditions and attacking a prison guard.

Alexander Dinu Tanasescu, 35, appeared before the Parole Board of Canada late last month after having his release suspended.

He is serving a sentence of just over five years — reduced from nine years after he was given credit for time served — after pleading guilty to manslaughter in connection with the death of 36-year-old Blair Thomas Cody.

The attack, which took place on May 19, 2010 at Fraser Regional Correctional Centre, was caught on surveillance video. It showed Cody walking up to Tanasescu and the two men having a brief conversation, after which Tanasescu punched Cody in the face.

When Cody fell to the floor, Tanasescu kicked and punched him multiple times. Tanasescu turned and walked away, but returned seconds later to continue the beating, stomping on Cody’s head and punching and kicking him some more.

The attack, which lasted less than a minute, left Cody unconscious. He was taken to hospital, but he remained in a persistent vegetative state until he died more than 10 months later.

Tanasescu was given statutory release, granted to most offenders after they have served two-thirds of their sentence, on Aug. 18, 2016. Everything appeared to go well for the first two months, but in October 2016 a drug test showed he had used cocaine. His release was maintained, but the next day he showed signs of a drug overdose.