Abbotsford killer's return prompts protest

A convicted killer who is serving a life sentence for the murder of one teenage girl and nearly killing a second in Abbotsford has been transferred back to the Fraser Valley city, outraging the families of his victims.

Terry Driver beat 16-year-old Tanya Smith to death with a baseball bat in October 1995, and severely injured Misty Cockerill, then 15.

He then terrorized the communitywith taunting phone calls to police and the local radio station, vowing to kill again.

He was convicted of first-degree murder in 1997 and sentenced to a life term.

Driverhad been held in the protective custody unit at the Kent Institution, a maximum security prison near Agassiz, about 70 kilometres further up the Fraser Valley.

Recently, without notification,he was moved tothe Pacific Institution-Regional Treatment Centre in Abbotfsord, provoking rage from the families of his victims.

The Smith family asked for the help of Abbotsford Conservative MP Ed Fast, who wrote to prison administrators to have the transfer stopped.

"Ultimately it shouldn't be the inmate who rules the roost," said Fast. "We do have to speak up for victims and their families, sincethere wasn't even notification."

Fast notes Cockerill is still in Abbotsford, where she is attending college.

Denis Finlay, who speaks for Corrections Canada, won't talk specifically about Driver, but says the need of an inmate's rehabilitation is key.

"If he does require programs that are unique to a certain institution in Abbotsford, that's where we will send him."

Driverwas designated as a dangerous offender in 2000, which means he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.