Killer of three to be released after decades in prison
Teenager and grandparents murdered in fallout from bizarre vigilante plot
PETERBOROUGH Jason Shawn Cofell, a Chatham triple murderer whose crimes as a teenager nearly 30 years ago rocked Southwestern Ontario, has been granted full parole.
The Parole Board of Canada granted Cofell, 46, full parole during a hearing held at the Peterborough Parole Office on Tuesday.
Cofell was asked during the proceedings what he would say to a family member of the victims.
“I’d probably say, ‘I’m very sorry for what happened but due to my parole conditions, I cannot associate with you any longer,’ and then leave the area,” he told the hearing.
On Oct. 6, 1991, the Chatham community was stunned by the killing of three people — Jasen Pangburn, 18, and his grandparents, Virginia and Alfred Critchley, 73 and 77 respectively.
Just over a year later on Nov. 17, 1992, Cofell received a life sentence after being convicted of the triple murder following a trial held in Goderich.
Another person, who was a young offender at the time, received the maximum penalty of three years behind bars under what was then known as the Young Offenders Act after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Virginia Critchley.
Cofell believed Pangburn was a police informant after overhearing him talking about how to make money through the tipster organization Crime Stoppers. Cofell had been leading a gang of teenagers at the time who were arming themselves to rid the community of drug dealers.
According to a previous parole board report that recounted the crime’s details, Cofell suspected Pangburn had contacted police to report Cofell’s involvement with illegal firearms.
This resulted in Cofell and his younger accomplice going to visit Pangburn at his grandparents’ home on Grand Avenue East on the outskirts of Chatham.
While there, they lured Pangburn outside into a wooded area behind the home under the pretext of having target practice.
The report stated Cofell fired two shots from a gun into a tree before firing the third shot into Pangburn’s chest.
“When he ran from you, you chased him and hit him over the head with the butt end of the gun,” the report stated.
“You and your co-accused then dragged the victim into the woods, struck him over the head with a bottle, then placed a rock on his head, before covering the body with leaves.
“You left him there to die.”
The report also detailed how Cofell and his co-accused returned to the house asking for permission to wait for Pangburn under the guise that he had gone to the mall for a few minutes. While there, the report details how Cofell instructed the youth to kill Virginia Critchley and Cofell killed Alfred Critchley.
Cofell was first granted day parole for six months at a halfway-house in Peterborough in early May 2016 after a parole board hearing at the Beaver Creek Institution, a minimum security facility in Gravenhurst.
In October 2018, parole officials extended a six-month parole release for Cofell for the fifth time. It was noted in that report that Cofell’s lack of a stable job continues to present a barrier to his full release.
The decision also cited the fact there have been no issues or concerns regarding Cofell’s behaviour while he’s been on day parole.
But the report also noted the impact Cofell’s crime still has on the family of the victims.
“Victim-impact statements attest to the profound manner in which the lives of secondary victims have been adversely affected,” stated the report.
“Victims speak of a pervasive sense of grief and immeasurable loss.”
The last extension of Cofell’s day parole, which continued to include staying five days in the community and two days at a community residential facility per week, was granted on Oct. 29.
This parole board report indicated Cofell had overcome his struggles with employment stability, having worked at the same factory for the past year, which has improved his financial situation.
It was also noted Cofell continues to work on developing a leather and jewelry business, which has included attending consumer trade shows to sell his goods.
The report stated Cofell’s continued psychological counselling, along with his conduct to date, suggests he likely represents a low risk to reoffend.
It was also stated in the last report that if full parole is granted to Cofell, it is recommended special conditions continue, which include having no direct or indirect contact with any member of the victims’ families and undergoing psychological counselling.
It was also recommended Cofell continue to abide by the condition that he not associate with any person he knows or has reason to believe is a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, except with written authorization from his parole officer.
This is due to Cofell’s previous involvement with trafficking illegal firearms obtained through his involvement with the military, the parole board report states.