This Sickens Me To The Core

[Guest Sundancefisher]

Calgary child-killer and rapist granted day parole

Sherri Zickefoose, Canwest News Service

Published: Wednesday, November 05, 2008

 

 

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. -- A Calgary child killer and rapist was granted day parole Wednesday afternoon, as his victim's family wept over the decision.

 

After a three-hour hearing before the National Parole Board Wednesday morning, Harold David Smeltzer was granted day parole for six months. He will serve the time at a halfway house in Regina.

 

In 1981, Smeltzer was convicted of first-degree murder in the killing of five-year-old Kimberley Thompson and the rapes of at least three women in southwest Calgary.

 

Evelyn Thompson hasn't faced her daughter's killer since his trial 28 years ago, but she attended Wednesday's hearing and openly wept during the emotion-packed proceedings.

 

"I want him to stay in prison, I don't want him to see the light of day. She doesn't get a second chance, why should he?" Thompson said after the hearing.

 

"Life is life. Not 10 years, not 20, not 25."

 

Thompson and six members of her family travelled to Prince Albert to read victim impact statements -- the family's first -- at the hearing. Evelyn's son, Brad Thompson, said he was sickened by Smeltzer's lack of remorse.

 

"He barely even acknowledged his part in her death," he said. "He barely even referenced her. She's dead and he gets to walk."

 

Smeltzer was 24 when he snatched the young girl on her way to kindergarten in Calgary on Jan. 24, 1980. He drowned her in his parents' bathtub and stuffed her naked body into a garbage can a few blocks from her home.

 

Her frozen body was found the next day.

 

Thompson's 1980 murder shocked the city and stumped police for five months. Smeltzer eluded capture although was living just blocks away from his victim.

 

He was arrested after an 11-year-old rape victim recognized him when he was out walking.

 

In court, Smeltzer pleaded guilty to two counts of rape, two counts of attempted rape, acts of gross indecency, break and enter during an attempted rape and possession of a weapon.

 

Among his victims were a 17-year old high school girl, a 27-year-old librarian and a 27-year-old school custodian.

 

Smeltzer has also admitted terrorizing the city of Calgary between 1975 and 1980. He has gone on record claiming responsibility for sexually assaulting 40 victims in a south Calgary neighbourhood during the mid- to late-1970s, according to National Parole Board documents obtained by the Calgary Herald.

 

He was sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance of parole for 25 years. He has been serving time at Riverbend Institution, a minimum-security prison in Prince Albert, Sask.

 

Calgary Herald

 

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[rehsifylf]

I really do not understand why anyone would think someone like this deserves to live. What possible reason could someone provide? Its horrible that he killed someone, but to me, the assaults are worse. Those women are probably changed forever.

 

Money says that he finds a way to do it again.

[Pythagoras]

Its horrible that he killed someone, but to me, the assaults are worse. Those women are probably changed forever.

 

He made up for that by killing a child.

 

I am so sick of our lax criminal laws. Castration, hard labour and cold food for life would be too good for this piece of :$*%&: .

[hopdrop]

Maybe frontier justice isn’t such a bad thing……

 

Doubtful this guy is ever going to be productive member of society.

[dube]

For a guy like this nearly 30 years in a cell has done nothing but allow him the time to become even more dangerous. I think it's very irresponsible to set these kind of offenders loose.

Sad thing is if it happens again you can bet he'll off himself before he goes back to jail. I figure they should have beat him to it 28 years a ago.

[Hawgstoppah]

This makes me so sick I just don't even have words to describe it...

[darrinhurst]

I have a five year old daughter. If anything like that happned to her, God forbid, may the good Lord take that sonofabitch before I got my hands on him. They wouldn't be long for this world if I did.

 

I'm completely disgusted.

[kungfool]

I hope he gets spit on and beat every time he shows his face until he does the cowardly thing and takes a bath with a toaster.