Warning: This story has details of a brutal murder.
A convicted Saskatoon killer who was granted early parole is back behind bars after a woman told police he was stalking her daughter in Victoria.
Kenneth David MacKay, 49, befriended Daina at his flagging job in Victoria, and then began to stalk her, her mother Christine said in an interview.
“MacKay and Daina talked frequently and my daughter had zero knowledge of his past, only the lies he told her,” said Christine. SASKTODAY agreed not to report her or her daughter’s last names.
In December 2000, MacKay murdered 21-year-old Crystal Paskemin from Sweetgrass First Nation in Saskatoon. Two years later, a Saskatoon jury found him guilty of first-degree murder.
In 2002, MacKay was sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years but he was granted early day parole in January and released to a community residential facility on Vancouver Island for six months. Then, in July, the parole board extended his day parole for another six months.
Parole documents reveal that MacKay was banned from Saskatchewan, had a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and had to return to the halfway house at night.
Other conditions of his release include not consuming drugs or alcohol, following his treatment plan, not being at a gambling establishment, not contacting the victim’s family, and reporting all sexual and non-sexual relationships and friendships with women to his parole officer.
When they learned of the parole board’s decision, Paskemin’s family said they worried MacKay posed a risk to other women.
“We bear the burden of perpetual fear that another daughter or granddaughter will meet the same fate as our dear Crystal,” said Paskemin’s younger sister Tanya.
Parole documents show there continue to be concerns about MacKay’s power and control issues. The board said he has possible issues with women and their expected role in relationships. A psychologist concluded that he was a high risk for violent re-offending.
MacKay’s institutional parole officer wrote in her report that she had concerns about his inability to accept “no” for an answer, and inability to accept denials or refusals. He attacked Paskemin after she told him “no.” At the time of Paskemin’s rape and murder, MacKay was “harbouring anger towards the women” in his life and his failed relationships, said the report.
Paskemin was on a girls’ night out at the Longbranch bar when MacKay approached her and offered her a ride home, said Tanya.
MacKay’s parole documents reveal that he violently sexually assaulted Paskemin in his truck. She managed to escape but he continued to attack her outside of his truck, including hitting her on the jaw with his fist with such force that her jaw was broken. He then drove his truck over Paskemin’s head, crushing it.
“You set the victim’s body on fire and dragged her body behind your truck for a considerable distance before digging a crude grave and dumping the victim’s body into it,” say the parole documents. “You then fled and tried to destroy evidence. The victim was found naked with the exception of one sock.”
He lit her body on fire and dragged her body in his truck by a chain down an icy grid road. He then dug a shallow grave, tossed Paskemin in it, and covered her with snow, said the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations when speaking out in January against MacKay’s early parole.
Although Daina had a certain amount of trust in MacKay because they worked for the same company and took the same courses together, something about him made her uneasy, her mother said. During the courses and at the worksite, MacKay tried developing a relationship with Daina and even insisted on giving her a ride home once because he lived in the same neighbourhood, she said.
“He befriended her and tried to make some sort of relationship out of the whole deal.”
Since it was a new friendship, Christine cautioned her daughter not to let MacKay into her house and not to go to his place.
Daina’s uneasy feeling about MacKay increased, her mother said. She said he showed up at Daina’s work site last week on a day he wasn’t working and asked if he could drive her home or to work the next day,” said Christine. “This behaviour made my daughter nervous.
“Daina’s crew mates at work were suspicious of MacKay’s intentions with Daina, too. His behaviour wasn’t normal.”
MacKay had reportedly given two weeks’ notice at work and told others that he planned to become a truck driver. He told Daina that is why he wanted to meet her outside of work and why he was leaving the flagging job, Christine said.
That’s when he started pushing her, said Christine, asking: “Can I take you for coffee, can I do this with you?
“She just had this feeling that she didn’t want to piss him off,” she added.
The odd behaviour and her gut instinct prompted Daina to do her own research on MacKay. She did an internet search and was horrified with the results.
“She’s in shock, she’s just in shock,” said Christine. “She’s pretty shook up.”
After discovering MacKay’s past, Daina called a co-worker, who told her she needed to call their employer immediately. She did and her boss told her to call the police, said Christine.
“The police showed up right away to obtain a statement and they went directly to MacKay’s [place] and apprehended him.”
In an email Tuesday, Const. Terri Healy confirmed MacKay was arrested by Victoria police officers on Sept. 1 for suspension of his parole.
The Parole Board of Canada said it is unable to discuss the specifics of MacKay’s case but if an offender on parole fails to abide by conditions imposed, their release may be suspended by the Correctional Service of Canada and they will be returned to prison.
“Once an offender’s parole has been suspended, CSC may refer the case back to the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) for a post-suspension review,” said Lisa Saether, regional manager of community relations and training for the Parole Board of Canada, Pacific Region.
At that point, the parole board decides, after reviewing all relevant available information, to either cancel the suspension or to revoke the offender’s release, Saether said. If the board cancels the suspension, it may decide to change the conditions or add special conditions to the offender’s release. If the board opts to revoke the release, the offender will remain in custody.
“When making its decision, the board conducts a thorough risk assessment to determine whether the offender’s risk remains manageable in the community. Public safety is the paramount consideration in all PBC decisions,” Saether wrote.
Christine said she is “putting myself in Crystal’s family’s shoes.”
“I can’t imagine being there. I don’t want to be there. I don’t want anybody else to be there.”
Just a day after discovering MacKay’s past, Christine is still shaken up. “Now I have nightmares,” she said. “I can’t begin to imagine how Crystal’s family and friends feel about him being loose, or set loose again.
“I want him off the streets,” she said. “I will not stay quiet unless he’s permanently back behind bars.”
Christine wants to know why the Parole Board of Canada granted MacKay early parole in January when he wasn’t even eligible for parole until 2027, and after the staff at his prison expressed concerns about his issues with women and inability to accept the word “no,” and felt he was at a high risk to violently reoffend.
“Why didn’t anybody listen?” asked Christine. “Did the fact that Kenneth David MacKay murdered a native girl give leverage to his early parole?”
Christine also wants to know why the public wasn’t warned about where MacKay was living. “The halfway house he resided in was in my daughter’s neighbourhood.”
Christine said her daughter had no inkling about MacKay’s criminal past. He was living his life as a regular citizen and there was nothing indicating that he was a killer. He had a car, a motorcycle, and had paid for his road flagging course where he initially met her daughter. Christine wants to know who paid for his course and vehicles.
“Why was he out at all? Isn’t there any responsibility and accountability regarding schools and places of work he attends, or is that left up to the victims’ families to find out for themselves?”
— With a file from The Canadian Press
