Penny Boudreau, convicted in daughter's death, granted more escorted prison passes

Blair Rhodes · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 23, 2025 4:45 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

A Bridgewater, N.S., pistillate who choked her girl to decease portion the kid begged for mercy is being granted much escorted passes from prison.

Penny Boudreau was convicted of second-degree execution successful the 2008 decease of her 12-year-old girl Karissa. The condemnation carries an automatic beingness condemnation and the justice acceptable her parole ineligibility astatine 20 years.

As she approaches the extremity of her sentence, the Parole Board of Canada has been granting her escorted impermanent absences to assistance her adjust. The committee notes this has been going connected since 2018 without incident. The lone disruption came during the COVID-19 pandemic erstwhile question restrictions were imposed connected everyone.

"You person referenced experiencing debased self-esteem, a consciousness of inadequacy, fears of abandonment and being mostly inadequate," the committee wrote following a proceeding connected March 28.

"Those aspects of your property and societal deficits person apt contributed to your engagement successful what you qualify arsenic unhealthy intimate relationships."

Boudreau, who turns 51 this year, has utilized her erstwhile absences to be religion functions and walk clip with a pistillate friend.

"You person nary meaningful household supports different than those that person dilatory developed done your engagement with a religion and idiosyncratic who is an progressive subordinate of the congregation," the study notes.

"All but abandoned by household and community, engagement with the chaplaincy work has been your superior societal outlet."

The committee granted Boudreau permission for up to 18 escorted absences to be church-related activities, and 4 absences to sojourn her friend's home. The committee does not accidental wherever Boudreau is being held successful Canada, oregon wherever the escorted absences would instrumentality place. 

The committee said it appears the Correctional Service of Canada is looking astatine June of this twelvemonth arsenic a clip to perchance assistance Boudreau much freedoms, including unescorted absences from prison.