Man who stabbed wife to death on Portage Avenue in 1994 denied day parole

A man convicted of stabbing his wife to death on a busy street more than 25 years ago has been denied day parole after gaining temporary release twice in recent years.

Bruce Stewner, now 55, was sentenced to life in prison for the second-degree murder of his wife, Kelly Lynn Stewner, in front of bystanders on Portage Avenue in broad daylight. 

After the two had an argument in Stewner's car, Stewner stabbed his wife 20 times after she ran from the vehicle near Assiniboine Park on May 6, 1994. At the time, Kelly had a restraining order against her estranged husband and was one month away from her 24th birthday.

Stewner began serving his sentence in February 1995.

Both times Stewner was released on day parole, he broke conditions of his release and was sent back to prison, parole documents say.

In 2013, Stewner's parole was revoked after he relapsed into substance abuse and did not report he was in relationships with two women. In 2017, it was again revoked after he failed to disclose problems in his intimate relationship, and concerns were raised he consumed alcohol and uttered threats.

Decades after the killing of his wife, Stewner still struggles in his "ability to manage [his] emotional responses in stressful situations," the Parole Board of Canada wrote in its decision to deny his request for day parole on June 30.

"You have a history of dysfunctional relationships with women," the decision said. "During this sentence you continued to have difficulties with intimate relationships, which contributed to the revocation of your day parole release."

High risk of spousal violence

While Stewner's risk to reoffend in a violent manner was assessed as general to moderate, his risk of spousal violence is still high, the decision said. A psychological assessment from March also found his risk for future general violence to be moderate, but his risk for future intimate partner violence to be high.

That report also highlighted concerns involving Stewner's tendencies to be controlling and lack transparency on both of his previous day parole releases, particularly about his relationship with women, the decision said. 

The psychologist who assessed Stewner also noted a concern that he argued against the condition that he report all intimate and non-sexual relationships with women — a requirement deemed "vital" to manage Stewner's risk to reoffend, particularly considering his history of verbal abuse, threats and violence, including the killing of his wife, the decision said.

This disagreement "signals to the Board a concerning lack of insight into what is considered a high risk situation for you. The Board finds you have made limited progress in this regard," the decision said.

The decision also notes instances where Stewner allegedly threatened violence against a peer and tried to incite fellow inmates to fight each other by spreading malicious rumours, which it said he later denied.

It also said he has completed a number of programs while incarcerated, including some that target substance abuse, cognitive skills, violence and family violence, relationships and emotions.

Despite the completion of these programs, Stewner "engaged in threatening behaviour towards another partner on a previous release," the decision said.

The board concluded that Stewner's release on day parole would present an undue risk to society.