Advisory: This article has details about a brutal murder.
One of the men serving a life sentence for the brutal murder of Langford teenager Kimberley Proctor in 2010 has had his appeal for day parole rejected.
Kruse Hendrick Wellwood was denied parole last August, but applied to the Parole Board of sa国际传媒’s appeal division based on several complaints, including that the board didn’t provide him with an accurate hearing date. Wellwood also claimed the parole board failed to consider his community supports and progress, and claims that his psychological risk assessment was misinterpreted.
The appeals division said Wellwood had not raised any point that would cause it to intervene in the parole board’s decision to deny his day parole.
The appeal division said the board’s decision to deny parole would stand, based on an accurate interpretation of the information in Wellwood’s file, which estimated his risk “to be in the high range for general, violent and sexual re-offending.”
It also denied Wellwood’s appeal based on the “nature and gravity of the offence,” an elevated risk of violent and sexual recidivism, concerns over Wellwood’s ongoing issues with emotional regulation, and the lack of a viable plan for support and supervision during release.
Wellwood, now 29, is serving a life sentence in Mission Institution for the murder of 18-year-old Proctor in March 2010.
Wellwood was 16 when he and Cameron Moffat, 17, lured the Grade 12 student to Wellwood’s home in Langford, tied her up, gagged her, sexually assaulted her, beat her, suffocated her and mutilated her body with a knife over several hours. They put her body in a freezer, and the next day travelled to the Galloping Goose trail and set it on fire. Her burned body was found under a bridge on the trail on March 19, 2010.
The teens, who were sentenced as adults, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and were given life sentences in 2011 with no possibility of parole for 10 years. They were both eligible for day parole in 2018.
The appeals division said Wellwood’s’s “emotional dysregulation” is a major setback to his rehabilitation. “Historically and throughout his sentence, he has exhibited tantrum-like behaviours, sometimes for prolonged periods lasting several hours. These behaviours involve uncontrollable crying, punching or striking himself in the head, pulling his hair, punching/kicking walls or doors. His physical aggression and violence are not directed at others, but rather towards himself, although sometimes involve expletives directed at others,” the appeal division said in its report.
“These episodes of emotional dysregulation are intense and would reasonably be perceived as unsafe by any onlooker, except for staff members who have some exposure and understanding of this peculiar behaviour on his part.”
The appeals division said Wellwood’s priority is to work on his emotional regulation, but noted Wellwood does not believe he can do it on his own. “He has sought and received mental health support, but he feels he has reached an impasse with Mission’s mental health team and is not always receptive to work with them,” said the appeals report.
“Your lack of change in this dynamic risk domain demonstrates your failure to make progress against the identified risky behaviours that were present at the time of your index offence when you took the life of the young victim. The appeal division finds the board’s decision is based on relevant, reliable, and persuasive information.”
The division also said that while Wellwood’s appeal noted the board did not take into account his community support, he states in his own day parole application that he has no family support or financial resources. The appeal division said Corrections sa国际传媒 interviewed Wellwood’s “identified community support, and he explained that he had concerns with your stability and suitability for reintegration at this time.”
In a risk assessment last April, a psychological assessment said Wellwood’s risk of violent and sexual re-offending remained high.
The parole decision last August also noted Wellwood continues to use sex as a way to cope with negative emotions.
“Your psychological risk assessments are very concerning … those specific to psychopathology point to a high risk. You appear to have an entrenched sexual deviance that began at a very young age, and which you acted out in a most violent manner on an innocent woman,” said the decision.
Wellwood first applied for day parole in 2019 and was denied. His bid for full parole in 2020 was also rejected.
— With files from Louise Dickson
