A Lacombe woman who was imprisoned after killing two teenagers in 2012 when she was driving drunk has had her day parole revoked.
April Gail Beauclair was convicted of two counts of impaired driving causing death and was sentenced to three and a half years on Oct. 11, 2012.
In the early hours of March 31, 2012, she was heading home after partying earlier. Driving on Hwy 11A about three km west of Hwy 2, her vehicle slammed into another vehicle that was disabled and being pushed along on the highway shoulder by teenagers.
Colton Keeler, 19, died at the scene and Tyson Vanderzwaag,18, died six days later in hospital.
Beauclair, a mother of two children, is now 32 and pregnant.
Following a number of concerns about her behaviour, the Parole Board of Canada revoked her day parole on Oct. 1. The Advocate received details on Tuesday from the parole board about its decision to revoke her day parole.
Beauclair will get statutory release on Sept. 9, 2015. Statutory release is mandated by law and is not granted by the parole board. Most offenders are entitled to statutory release after serving two-thirds of their sentence. The parole board’s authority at this point is only for imposing conditions of the offender’s release.
Beauclair received day parole on June 11, 2013.
On Nov. 25, 2013, she was denied full parole. Day parole meant she had to return nightly to an institution or halfway house.
In December 2013 and again in May 2014, her day parole was continued for six months each time. There had been some issues but these were considered manageable.
But in December 2013, Beauclair experienced a number of personal challenges, the parole board said.
Included in that was her relationship ending with her fiance, and being fired from her job in the same week, and her wanting to drink.
Then in January 2014 she began a new relationship and concerns arose that her new boyfriend had a history of substance abuse, and that he drank socially.
Later, Beauclair began missing some of her counselling and program sessions, and then cancelled her programs without consulting her parole officer. In May, she learned she was pregnant.
In July, it was discovered she had not been taking prescribed medications for a number of mental health issues. As well, she lied that she had forgotten the medications at her mother’s home when in fact she had not picked up the prescriptions at the pharmacy. At this point, her release was suspended.
Her case management team said her commitment to her correctional plan is questionable, she was not complying with direction, and she lied on a number of occasions.
Her therapist said she continued to struggle with “emotions management, problem solving and assertiveness and it may be useful ... to participate in interventions. ...”
In revoking her parole, the board stated that Beauclair’s actions significantly elevated her risk in the community to an undue level, also noting her long battle with alcohol and drug use.
“The board notes that your institutional behaviour or interaction with the police and courts has been without issue. It also notes your awareness of and remorse for the consequences of your action. ... It also notes your current participation in the DBT (dialectical behaviour therapy) program. However, you are only halfway through it and have yet to address some of the critical issues for you.”
A number of conditions will be imposed when Beauclair receives statutory release in 2015.
She cannot reside in Red Deer, she is to have no contact with the victims or any member of the victims’ families, she must stay out of bars, abstain from alcohol and drugs, take prescribed medications, and follow psychological counselling and psychiatric treatment.