Day parole granted to former Vancouver police officer convicted of killing two women

A former Vancouver police officer who murdered a girlfriend in 1993 and killed his common-law wife three years later has been granted day parole.

Brock Graham, now 66, will be released into the community for a six-month trial period under conditions: he must live in a halfway house, report any relationships with women, and stay off dating sites.

The Parole Board of Canada decided last month that Graham should be released because of progress made in his rehabilitation. Graham pleaded guilty in 2005 to second-degree murder for killing and dismembering Lynn Duggan in her North Vancouver apartment in June 1993. At the time, he was already serving a life sentence for the March 1996 slaying of Patti Ducharme, a mother of four, found dead in the bathtub of a Campbell River townhouse where she had been living with Graham.

Christopher Ducharme, Patti's son, said Wednesday that his family is "profoundly disappointed, shocked and heartbroken by the Parole Board of Canada's decision." He stated: "After 30 years of living with the devastating consequences of Brock Graham's actions in our mother's wrongful death, our greatest fear is that public safety has not been given the weight it deserves to protect unsuspecting future victims."

Graham denied killing Duggan for years before confessing during a prison visit by her brother, leading to the second murder charge and guilty plea. Board members Douglas Kirkpatrick and Matthew O'Brien noted Graham had "done work to better yourself," and concluded "your risk is manageable to the structured, supportive and secure environment of a (community based residential facility)."