By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Day parole granted to Lethbridge woman who killed her mother in 2016

Oct 19, 2018 | 4:11 PM

LETHBRIDGE – Less than two years after being sentenced to a federal prison term for manslaughter, Jessica Praill has been granted day parole.

In November of 2016, the now 31-year-old admitted to the stabbing death of her 54-year-old mother, Shelley Kristine Praill, in April of that year. After hearing a joint sentencing submission from the Crown and defence, the judge sentenced Praill to eight years in prison, with credit for 288 days already served in pre-trial custody.

In the decision granted by the Parole Board of Canada on Sept. 27, they stipulate that Praill must reside at a community residential facility for six months. She is also under conditions that she take medication as prescribed, follow her treatment plan, and not consume alcohol.

The board noted that mental health issues were a primary factor in the offence, as Praill suffers from bipolar disorder and depression, and that she was not taking her medication and consuming alcohol daily at the time.

They went on to point out that according to Praill’s case management team, she has been taking her medication and demonstrated a willingness to follow a medication regime. Further, they acknowledged that she has already been out on escorted temporary absences, with no concerns reported.

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“[Praill] carried out a violent act with a weapon against the victim who was defenceless at the time of your attack,” the board wrote in their decision, while outlining aggravating factors.

Following that was a list of mitigating factors, which the board said outweighed the aggravating ones. While noting that Praill is currently classified as a medium security offender, they said she will be reclassified as minimum security once she completes the Moderate Intensity program, which began in August and ends in December.

“It is this Board’s opinion that you will not present an undue risk to society if released on day parole and that your release will contribute to the protection of society by facilitating your reintegration into society as a law-abiding citizen,” read the decision.

Background

Through an agreed statement of facts provided to the court on Nov. 4, 2016, it was revealed that Praill had been living with her mother, sister and several others at her mother’s north side home for several months, and that their relationship was strained. Praill’s sister told police that their mother had been emotionally abusive when they were young, with some physical abuse as well.

On April 28, 2016, Praill and her mother got into an argument over alcohol and cigarettes. Later in the evening, Praill was alone in the living room of the house, thinking about how angry she was at her mother and how she had been treated very poorly. She went to the kitchen, grabbed a knife and went into the bedroom where her mother was sleeping, stabbing her once in the side.

Praill’s sister, Jennifer, heard their mother calling out, “She stabbed me, she stabbed me in the heart,” and found Praill holding a knife and trying to leave the house. After a struggle in the front yard, the two waited for police to arrive.

Emergency personnel took Shelley to the Chinook Regional Hospital, where she died during emergency surgery. An autopsy revealed that her heart had been lacerated.