Saskatoon man who brutally killed Indigenous woman 23 years ago granted day parole

Warning: This story contains disturbing details.

A Saskatoon man found guilty of brutally murdering an Indigenous woman 23 years ago has been granted day parole.

Crystal Paskemin and Kenneth MacKay met at the Longbranch, a Saskatoon bar, in 2000.

MacKay offered Paskemin a ride home. Hours later, the 21-year-old was dead.

A jury found MacKay guilty of first-degree murder.

MacKay was handed down a life sentence in the summer of 2002, with no chance of parole for 25 years.

But, two years early on his sentence, the national board granted MacKay day parole for six months.

A Saskatoon man found guilty of brutally murdering an Indigenous woman 23 years ago has been granted day parole.

MacKay will live at a residential facility on Vancouver Island, and has a daily curfew of 8 p.m., according to the Parole Board of Canada’s written decision. 

Paskemin’s family worries he will reoffend. 

“We know this man is still a threat to all women, regardless of what province he lives in,” Paskemin’s family wrote in a statement, distributed to CTV News.

“We pray that no family must go through the hell-on-earth that we have had to navigate.”

Lawyer Tony Paisana, a partner at Peck and Company, says it’s not uncommon for an offender to receive day parole after 23 years.

“The entire rationale behind the prison system is rehabilitation, and so the natural next progression of rehabilitation is some form of parole,” Paisana says.

Paisana says public safety is the parole board’s barometer in making decisions.

Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) Chief Bobby Cameron says the parole board’s decision sends a “terrible” message to Indigenous women and girls.

Cameron wants MacKay to be formally designated as a dangerous offender, where it’s more difficult to receive parole.

“It’s a heinous, gruesome act he committed. It’s probably one of the worst in history,” Cameron says

“This guy is dangerous.” 

Paskemin’s blood and parts of her skull were discovered on a gravel road on the outskirts of Saskatoon on Dec. 29. 2000.

Kenneth MacKay leaving Saskatoon Court of King’s bench, handcuffed in a police vehicle, in February 2002.

MacKay violently sexually assaulted Paskemin, according to the parole board.

When trying to escape, MacKay punched Paskemin, breaking her jaw.

MacKay then drove over Paskemin’s head and lit her body on fire, in an attempt to destroy evidence. 

“She did have gravel in her vagina consistent with being dragged naked, ankle first, down the road,” according to an appeal decision denying MacKay parole in 2004.

MacKay said Paskemin’s death was an accident. While testifying in his own trial, MacKay told the jury Paskemin refused to get out of his truck, so he pulled her out.

He testified Paskemin stumbled into the truck’s path and he ran her over.

The Jan. 16 parole board decision says MacKay no longer calls the death an accident, and that he has made significant progress toward understanding the motivations behind his behaviour and his risk factors.

The parole board expressed some concern that MacKay still had issues with anger, and that he had a hard time "being told no," but wrote that it believed those factors could be managed through a gradual, supervised release.

Under MacKay’s parole conditions, he cannot go to bars or casinos, or consume alcohol. He is prohibited from contacting the victim’s family or entering Saskatchewan. His day-parole has been granted for six months, and will be re-assessed after that period.

Paskemin’s family, including her four younger sisters, remember Paskemin’s kindness, compassion and contagious smile.

Her family started a non-profit called Crystal’s Gifts that re-homes gently used furniture to single mothers fleeing violence.