Family contact already met, victim’s family trauma reasoning in Twitchell leave denial

Edmonton filmmaker Mark Twitchell is shown in an undated photo from his MySpace.com personal page. (THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Following the denial of Mark Twitchell’s leave bid, CTV News Edmonton has obtained documents outlining the parole board’s decision.

Amateur filmmaker Twitchell was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2008 killing of Johnny Altinger in 2011.

Twitchell, who was 29-years-old at the time, used a dating site posing as a woman to lure 38-year-old Altinger to a rented garage in south Edmonton where he hit Altinger in the head with a metal pipe multiple times and stabbed him before dismembering his body and disposing of the remains in a sewer drain.

The killing made international headlines as it mirrored the serial-killer television program “Dexter.” Police accused Twitchell of acting out his own film-script storyline after finding a document on his computer detailing the murder.

Twitchell submitted a leave bid in December for an escorted temporary absence (ETA) to visit his family in Edmonton.

The Parole Board of Canada (PBC) ultimately denied his submission, saying that his desire to maintain family contact was already being met and that approval of his ETA could cause further psychological trauma to Altinger’s family.

However, the decision noted that Twitchell’s risk estimates were low, saying his risk for violent offending and engagement in problematic behaviour during an ETA are low.

“While there was significantly concerning behaviour earlier in your sentence, more recent institutional incidents could more accurately (be) characterized as minor institutional infractions,” said PBC. “Overall, you have not had significant adjustment issues and are not a management concern within the institution.”

Earlier incidents referred to by the PBC include a journal that was found early in Twitchell’s incarceration detailing inappropriate sexual fantasies about a female corrections officer and thoughts of graphically harming and killing public figures, guards and other inmates.

Twitchell said he used the writing to “get it out of his system,” said the board.

For the last 19 years of his incarceration, Twitchell has had 12 ETAs for medical purposes, weekly video and phone calls as well as private family visits with his wife, whom he married in prison, and his parents.

Correction Service Canada recommended Twitchell’s two proposed ETAs be approved, saying “maintaining a positive relationship with (parents) is essential to managing risk.”

The PBC said it must “remain cognisant of the potential further psychological trauma to the victim’s family,” in its decision.