Husband killer hoping for review of her life sentence

Convicted murderer Nancy Mckinnon’s hope for early release remains faint.

Lawyers appeared in Calgary Court of Queen’s Bench Friday and adjourned setting a so-called faint hope hearing for Mckinnon as all the necessary materials required for her application are not yet complete.

Defence counsel James Mcleod asked that the case be adjourned a month in hopes a hearing date for a judicial review, the first step in the faint hope process, can be set then.

Mckinnon is serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for a minimum of 25 years for first-degree murder in the June 14, 2003, shooting death of her estranged husband, Nicholas Maradyn.

Both Mckinnon and her then-lover, Joseph (Joey) Bruso were convicted in 2004 of first-degree murder in the death of Maradyn, who was shot while in his truck on an isolated stretch of Highway 2A near Crossfield.

Mckinnon lured him to the area under the ruse of car trouble, and Bruso shot him with a high-powered rifle from tall grass about 20 metres away.

Under the Criminal Code, a convicted murderer whose parole ineligibility exceeds 15 years can ask for a judicial review to determine if they can apply to a jury for a reduction, after they’ve served that time.

Justice John Rooke has ordered an institutional assessment of Mckinnon which is required before a judicial review can be conducted.

Bruso, who missed a deadline for commencing an application to reduce his parole ineligibility, is in the process of determining if he can seek a constitutional exemption.