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Ladies and Gentlemen of the Parole Board: I do not believe there are words to even begin to describe the

pain, agony, and fear that my family and I have been forced to live with since March 21, 1991. Seeing that the only weapon I can use currently is my words, I will certainly do my best to convey what has been lost, and continues to be vulnerable since that life-altering day. I was only nine years old when I came home from school and to my surprise, found my mothers parents at our home to take care of us until my mom and dad got home. I immediately knew something was wrong, but I had no idea it involved my grandparents being murdered and my aunt hurt and abused. Life went from being safe and carefree to being scared and cautious in an instant. I went from being a child to an adult overnight. Now life is filled with constantly looking over my shoulder, waking up in the middle of the night to the smallest noise, and having to be much more wary of people than a young adult should have to be. Everyday is a challenge to not have this memory at the forefront of my mind, yet it continues to happen. I remember the peach coat my mom was wearing when she came home that night, and the way she hugged and kissed me like she thought she would never see us again. I remember my dads tearful eyes while he tried to explain why they were gone so late. The utter confusion and anger as to why someone would want to murder two special, loving people has never fully be resolved, at least without a sane and logical explanation. It is not as though they died in a car accident, or because of cancer or some other natural cause. No, they were brutally killed by George Harding Lovie, with absolutely no reason. A murderer that should have been kept behind bars when he first assaulted my aunt, but was released on a promise that he will not go near her or the rest of the family. Due to someone elses mistake and short falling, I now have to live my life constantly on guard that history will repeat itself and the offender will murder again if he is ever released from prison.

What you may not understand is my grandparents were the rock of my family. Every Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter were spent at their home, with my entire family crowded around tables, laughing, telling stories, and spending precious time together. It is so difficult to look back on those memories and not be able to make more of them. The taste of my grandmothers applesauce will never be replaced. The pink Cinderella book now sits on the shelf, triggering memories of being read to before falling asleep at my grandparents house. The race to find my chocolate bunny with my name on it and all my chocolate eggs is just a sweet moment from the past. The race to find grandpa at the fair to take a ride on his steam engine is something that I cannot share with my own family; I can only try and explain what life was like before this tragedy. The sound of the wooden swing outside their house that my cousins and I took turns swinging on, the tea parties inside with grandma, and the smell of their barn are part of my past, not my future. I now have the challenge of explaining to my own family why holidays and special events are hard on me, and why I always light a candle to remember my grandparents. I have lost more than just two exceptional people that I loved very much. I have lost my sense of freedom, knowing that heinous murders can take place in your own backyard. I have to live with the terror of being hunted down, cut up and mailed home, as the offender stated he would do in the trial courtroom. I have the constant underlying feeling of helpless outrage that so little was done for such a monstrous and violent crime. It is exhausting, physically grueling, and beyond stressful to not sleep well at night due to being awakened wondering what the future will bring and whether my family and I will be safe. It is a horrible feeling to try and work with a nerve-racking feeling, unsure of what will happen if George Lovie is ever released. This is what I wake up and deal with each and every day. This is just not about me anymore.this is not only my past; it becomes someone elses crisis. Recently I was in a serious relationship, and my fianc began to ask more questions about what had happened to my grandparents 2

and then he started to fully realize and comprehend the seriousness of this situation. He did not take my need for security seriouslythe automatic locking of doors immediately after returning home, turning on the alarm every time I left home or went to bed, or locking the car even if it was being left in the driveway for a moment. It is a lot for an outsider to take on, and there are so few people that are willing to accept this part of my life, and take it on as their own. It is one thing to meet someone and get married, but its a whole different situation trying to explain to someone you love what has happened and what the future could possibly be. Its so very frightening for me. I just want to have a normal life, get married and raise a family of my own, but that dream and reality was taken away from me long ago by the offender. My intense phobia for secure surroundings was one of the prominent factors that lead to our break up and cancellation of our July wedding with this decision being made less than six weeks before the date. It is unfathomable that a double murderer was only sentenced to a 25 year prison term, with parole being an option after only 15 years. How is this justifiable? Why is this happening now? How many more parole hearings will my family and I have to endure? The offender has no reason to be let out of prison. Is it worth risking your own family and community? I would certainly think not. I hope and pray for the day that life will be fully rebuilt without the fear, without waking up in the middle of the night, and without the guardedness I must front presently. Perhaps one day this will occur, but for now, I will continue to look over my shoulder. By keeping the offender in prison and denying his request, justice can be served in its own way. Enough mistakes have been made by the Canadian judicial system. This is the time to try and make up for the errors that happened in the past and keep my family and I safe. Please stop the cycle of anguish and distress my family constantly endures.

**Submitted by Stephanie Edwards

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