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Drunk driver who killed Sarah Beckett granted limited parole for alcohol treatment

Husband not notified of hearing

The drunk driver who killed West Shore RCMP Const. Sarah Beckett in April 2016 has been granted limited day parole to attend alcohol abuse treatment, but a parole board member cautioned that he still struggles with honesty.

Kenneth Jacob Fenton was handed a four-year prison sentence in July 2017 for impaired driving causing the death of Beckett, a 32-year-old mother of two young boys, in the early morning of April 5, 2016. He told a Parole Board of Canada panel on Monday that driving drunk was the “most devastating choice” he had ever made.

“I have caused more pain than I can imagine with my selfish and arrogant behaviour,” he said. “It does not seem fair that I am here while an innocent mother cannot go home to her children.”

The two-member panel decided to allow him to go to a treatment centre to complete a 70-day program. They turned down his request to move to a halfway house after treatment, instead requiring him to return to prison.

Fenton is also serving an additional 18 months in prison for driving drunk and seriously injuring a passenger in May 2016, six weeks after he slammed into Beckett’s police cruiser.

Beckett was killed when her marked police car was struck broadside at Goldstream Avenue at Peatt Road at 3:27 a.m.

Beckett’s husband, Brad Aschenbrenner, was upset Monday that the parole board failed to notify him about the hearing.

“I feel drained. I have never missed a court appearance that he’s been subject to, except this one. I made a promise to my wife that I would be at every one of these,” said Aschenbrenner.

“It’s different when you know he’s going to go to trial and you can prepare for the day. But when I got a phone call from the media last night wanting a statement, it caught me off-guard. It was hard to really function at that point.”

Aschenbrenner sent the parole board an email, saying he should not have had to learn about the hearing from the media.

“They said they’re looking into how they missed this and they’ll get back to me [today] or Wednesday,” said Aschenbrenner. “I wanted to be able to read my victim impact statement out loud to him and the parole board so they know where I’m coming from.”

Aschenbrenner said he’s disgusted Fenton will be released into the community, even on a limited basis to attend treatment.

“If they don’t have the right treatment inside the facility, why can’t they bring that treatment in?” he asked. “Why does [Fenton] have to go outside to get the treatment? I don’t want him in the community and I’ve requested that he not have access to Vancouver Island. That was in part of my victim impact statement.”

Aschenbrenner intends to be at all future hearings. Fenton will be able to apply for full parole on May 15.

“I’m not going anywhere. I will still always be here for Sarah,” he said.

The parole board heard that Fenton had alcohol, cocaine and marijuana in his system at the time of the crash involving Beckett. He said he was grieving the death of a childhood friend who had committed suicide.

Board member Catherine Dawson questioned why the “terrible” crash that killed Beckett was not “enough of a wake-up call” for him to stop drinking.

Fenton replied that he went “off the deep end” and started getting drunk every day.

“I just could not stop drinking. It was the only way I could get up in the morning,” he said.

Dawson noted that, at the start of the hearing, Fenton said he was living with the mother of his child at the time of the fatal crash, but after being questioned, he admitted the two lived in separate homes.

“You have some work to do when it comes to telling the truth, being transparent and honest,” she said.

She also said she was concerned that he had an alcohol problem for 10 years before he recognized it. Fenton said he didn’t realize he was an alcoholic until the third session of a faith-based recovery program in prison.

The mother of his child repeatedly urged him to seek treatment, but he was in denial and hiding his drinking, Fenton said.

He also admitted lying to a psychiatrist who assessed him after the first crash, saying that he “told her what she wanted to hear” when he said he was avoiding the impulse to drink alcohol by going on long walks.

“I always thought a man should hide his emotions and not show any weakness.”

Board member Kevin D’Souza also questioned why Fenton repeatedly called the crash an “accident,” implying no one was at fault.

Fenton replied that he didn’t purposely crash into Beckett’s cruiser.

“It was my fault. If I wasn’t driving drunk that night, she would still be here,” he said.

He said he has completed a recovery program in prison and is taking the course a second time. He also completed a non-violent communication course to deal with anger issues he experienced in his relationship with his child’s mother, the board heard.

His parole officer said he was recommending day parole because there were no remaining substance-abuse programs for Fenton to take in prison.

Fenton will not be allowed overnight leave while in treatment. He must abide by conditions including not using alcohol or drugs, not operating a motor vehicle, not contacting Beckett’s family and not visiting Vancouver Island without permission.

He also must notify staff of any friendships or romantic relationships with women, given his frequent arguments in a previous relationship, which he acknowledged triggered anxiety that led him to drink.

ldickson@timescolonist.com