Victims angry convicted killer making bid for early parole

Nancy Brace doesn't mince words when it comes to describing the man who attacked her on a Halifax street in 1990: "He's a monster."

Antonio Edward Lavoie dragged her into a driveway and Brace's screams alerted passersby who came to her rescue, but not before Lavoie had punched her in the eyes and slammed her head into a wall.

Brace's eyes swelled shut and she spent a night in hospital and days at home recovering. For years, she was afraid to go out at night, afraid when she heard footsteps behind her.

"So in my day-to-day life, I've pretty much moved on until I get those damn letters saying he's wherever, doing whatever, whatever his situation is, telling me of that," Brace said. 

"And then you're right back there trying to keep the bastard in jail."

The letters Brace refers to are notices from the Correctional Service of Canada. As one of Lavoie's victims, she signed up to receive notifications any time there's a development in his case. She received one of those notifications a few days ago, telling her Lavoie is applying for early release from prison for another crime he committed.

Violent history

Lavoie has a history of violently attacking women. He has been serving a life sentence for the 2004 beating death of Sharon Ann Hatch.

While out on bail for assaulting Brace, he attacked a 16-year-old girl he knew, kicking her, punching her and stabbing her three times. Brace stays in touch with the other victim, who's now a 44-year-old woman. Brace said the other victim suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and plans to file her own letter with the Parole Board of Canada.

In prison for 'sudden, unprovoked murder'

Lavoie got a total sentence of nine years for the two attacks. He served two-thirds of that sentence, was released, reoffended and was sent back to prison.

This time, Lavoie attacked 42-year-old Hatch, striking her more than 40 times with a hammer. Hatch was lending tools to Lavoie, who was moving into an apartment across the hall from her.

"This was a sudden, unprovoked brutal murder," Chief Justice Joseph Kennedy noted in sentencing Lavoie.

"No motive, no rationale, no explanation. Violence for the sake of violence. Resulted in the taking of the life of a completely innocent woman."

Lavoie kept Hatch's body in his apartment for three days while his young daughter visited, before dumping her in woods off the Hammonds Plains Road.

"This wasn't a crime of passion or it wasn't an accident where someone where someone was accidentally hurt and killed," Hatch's sister, Janet Harnum, said Tuesday.

"He brutalized Sharon. She was essentially tortured at his hands."

Victims expected sentence to run until 2025

Lavoie eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, which carries an automatic life sentence. Kennedy set 20 years as the period Lavoie must serve before he can begin applying for parole. That should have run until 2025.

But the notice his victims received a few days ago said Lavoie is now applying for early parole. They've been given until the end of June to offer their thoughts.

"I would prefer to see him being [labelled] a dangerous offender and kept in jail until he dies because I have no doubt that if he is physically capable, he will harm or kill again," Brace said.

She said she will send a letter, but she's not optimistic it will make any difference.

"We can jump up and down we can stamp our feet, we can write letters and we can spend money and fly there and make a fuss," she said.

"But at the end of the day, the parole board will let him out because he's already in the queue."

Harnum is also doubtful her input will make a difference.

'No control over the outcome'

"And it's just the fear that we have no control over the outcome and, yes, they're talking about escorted passes, but the idea of escorted passes, he'll work his way into non-escorted passes and then, of course, full day parole," Harnum said.

"And what happens then when he's not being monitored?"

Like Brace, Harnum is convinced that Lavoie will offend again.

Harnum said if given the option, she will appear at any hearing the parole board conducts in Lavoie's case to make her objections in person.