Guy Turcotte, convicted of killing his children, denied supervised leave from jail to visit parents

Guy Turcotte, the former Quebec doctor who stabbed his two children to death in 2009, was denied a request for a temporary escorted absence from prison on Tuesday.

In its decision, the Parole Board of Canada stated Turcotte’s absence was not desirable given the exceptional gravity and violent nature of his crimes and the impact the murders had on Isabelle Gaston, his ex-wife and the kids’ mother.

“They considered the impact his temporary release would have on her to ultimately deny the request,” explained criminal defence lawyer Walid Hijazi, speaking as a legal expert who is not connected to the case.

Turcotte was requesting temporary escorted leave from prison – up to seven hours – to visit his parents. The former cardiologist was convicted in 2015 of stabbing their five-year-old son Olivier and three-year-old daughter Anne-Sophie dozens of times.

“That’s a slap in the face to Isabelle” said Darlene Ryan, a victim rights advocate. “I mean, obviously her children can’t visit their parents. She can’t see her children. And he’s asking for outings to visit his parents. It’s sadly ironic, to say the least.”

Turcotte was initially found not criminally responsible for the murders in 2011, but that verdict was overturned on appeal. The man, now 54, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 17 years.

The parole board evaluated Turcotte’s request on multiple aspects. It did acknowledge he was at low risk to re-offend; that he shows remorse; and that going on leave to visit his parents could have positive effects towards his rehabilitation.

‘Pain that never ends’

Earlier in the hearing, Gaston told the Parole Board how “a good part of who I was” died in February 2009 when her ex-husband Turcotte stabbed their children to death.

Reading a victim impact statement, the very emotional Gaston said she is “living with pain that never ends.”

Gaston detailed a troubled life since that day. She talked of PTSD, living with fear, an inability to grieve properly, and financial suffering.

“We never get over the murder of our children,” she read. Turcotte, who was asked not to look at his ex-wife during the hearing, cried while listening to her read standing just a few feet behind him.

Gaston also detailed being revictimized by the lengthy judicial process over the years.

Gaston wants Turcotte “to take responsibility from A to Z” and “recognize the irreparable harm he caused her, her kids and many others,” she told the hearing.

She said she didn’t want her third child to feel in danger if Turcotte was no longer behind bars, even for a temporary escorted leave.

That’s something victim rights advocate Darlene Ryan, speaking to CityNews after the parole board’s decision, wholeheartedly agrees with. Ryan’s stepdaughter Brigitte Serre was murdered in Montreal in 2006.

“it’s terrifying the first time you go through it,” Ryan said. “They tell you the person is going to be close but living it is two different things. I don’t see why they make us go through this so often. In victim statements, I’m at my 10th one now.

“I said it myself during victim impact statements in my own case. I feel that the system victimizes victims over and over again.”

‘Suicidal spiral’

Speaking for the first time since he was incarcerated — and just feet away from Gaston — Turcotte told Tuesday’s hearing he was suicidal on the night of the murders following an escalation of months of stress and depression caused by his separation from Gaston and his partial custody of the kids.

He says what pushed him over the edge that night was reading emails between Gaston and her partner.

“I wanted to die,” he told the hearing. “I didn’t use judgement and in my head and I only saw my pain and I wanted to end it.”

Turcotte was watching the children at the time and says he did not want them to find him dead, instead deciding “they must come with me.”

Though the parole board ultimately did not believe him, Turcotte refuted the premise he killed Anne-Sophie and Olivier to get back at Gaston, despite admitting being “overwhelmed by anger.” Turcotte said he remembers some of that night, including killing his son, describing his actions as rage mixed with panic while in a suicidal crisis.

He believes if he was alone on the night of the murders, he would have committed suicide and his children would still be alive.

“That night my kids were not enough to bring me back and I haven’t forgiven myself since then,” he said. “I thought only of my pain, not of them and that I had to care for them.”

With tears in his eyes, Turcotte said he regrets having made Gaston and others suffer.

“There is no worse pain we can put on someone than to take away their children,” he said. “I cannot even imagine to understand her pain… can’t imagine everyone who had to suffer because of me. Yes, I have that on my shoulders all the time.”

Attorney Hijazi says it’s unclear if Turcotte will request other exceptional visits in the future. If he does, Ryan says that will force Gaston to relive the trauma all over again.

“She’s going to have to go through this again,” she said. “Her nightmare is restarting with the judicial system. The nightmare of losing your children never ends, but with the judicial system, yeah, it’s restarting.”