Axe-killer of roommate seeks early release from prison
CALGARY Deborah Point, who killed and dismembered her roommate, has been a model prisoner who deserves a chance at early freedom, her lawyer told court Tuesday.
But Crown prosecutors said her refusal to admit to the 1999 murder of Audrey Trudeau should ensure the woman never has a shot at having her minimum 20-year sentence reduced.
That lack of accountability discounts much of what Point has achieved while at the Edmonton Institution for Women, said Sarah Clive.
“Can you really be rehabilitated if you refuse to take responsibility for your actions?” said Clive.
“This was a particularly brutal murder followed by an equally horrific dismemberment.”
Point, now 56, was convicted of second-degree murder for bashing in Trudeau’s head with an axe and then dismembering her body in February 1999.
She then stuffed the remains in boxes that sat in a southwest Calgary garage until they were found in July 1999.
Clive said since her conviction, Point hasn’t progressed and that’s been reflected in the mindset of supporters who share her defiance.
“None of them suggests she has made substantial changes,” Clive told Chief Justice Neil Wittman as Point, clad in denim, sat expressionless in the prisoner’s box.
But her lawyer Alain Hepner, said her failure to admit guilt is only one factor in whether Wittman should send the case to a jury to consider her earlier release under the Criminal Code’s so-called faint hope clause.
She’s been an ideal prisoner in every other way, he said.
“She’s completed her correctional plan with no problem,” said Hepner.
“In the 17 years she’s been incarcerated, her personal progress includes work contributions, awareness, a willingness to work in the institution, to be a mentor ...”
Point also had no record prior to her murder conviction and solid community support, he said.
If a jury were to rule in her favour, National Parole Board officials would still have the final say on any early freedom for Point, who could otherwise seek full parole in July 2019.
In victim-impact statements, Trudeau’s family members say they hope that never happens, saying Point’s actions have sentenced them to lifelong grief.
Those feelings are magnified whenever the case comes back to court, wrote Trudeau’s sister, Sheila Chiapetta, 44.
“Every time something comes up about this case, I relive the trial, I relive the awful photos I saw on the lawyer’s desk, I relive testimonies, seeing Point,” she wrote.
“These come back as nightmares, as anxiety attacks, lack of focus for home or work. I have trouble trusting people.”
Another sister, Mary Trudeau, wrote that an early release would endanger the public.
“She may well repeat this offence the next time she does not get what she wants,” she stated.
Wittman gave no date for a ruling on the case.