Shane Ertmoed is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder. He killed 10-year-old Heather Thomas 25 years ago in October 2000.
This story contains details that some readers may find upsetting.
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The man who killed 10-year-old Heather Thomas 24 years ago was denied day parole at a hearing Wednesday morning.
The Parole Board of Canada found Shane Ertmoed still lacks understanding of the factors that led him to abduct, rape and kill the young girl in October 2000.
After recounting how Ertmoed hid her daughter’s body and then threw it in Alouette Lake — a moment she thinks about daily — Heather’s mom, Jody Aspin begged the parole board to deny his request.
“Just imagine for one moment before you make any decisions, what if this had been your child?” she said.
A board member said he took her words seriously, realizing he was considering the release of someone who “murdered a little girl.”
Heather was 10 when she was abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered by Ertmoed. The Surrey construction worker was convicted of first-degree murder in 2002 and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
Thomas disappeared on Oct. 1, 2000 near her father’s townhouse complex in Cloverdale. That afternoon, while playing with friends, she said she was going for a short bike ride and never returned. Her body was found three weeks later, floating in Alouette Lake in Golden Ears Provincial Park.
Ertmoed, who lived in the same complex as Heather’s father, was charged with murder the following month. In an interview with police played during his trial, he confessed to killing Heather, but later testified that he had been forced to confess.
During the 2002 trial, the jury heard that Ertmoed lured Thomas into his home to see pictures of birds, then killed her when she resisted a sexual assault. He put her body in a hockey bag and then bought gas and a movie ticket to provide him with an alibi, said Crown lawyers. He hid her body in the park and then returned the next day to dump it in the lake.
“You have been found guilty of the most horrific crime known in law,” Justice Wally Oppal said after the verdict was delivered. “You murdered a 10-year-old simply to satisfy your sexual desires….”
During the hearing, two parole board members questioned Ertmoed about the murder and the years leading up to it when he realized he was attracted to children.
A board member pointed out that Ertmoed continually referred to Heather as a person, not a child.
“It feels like you’re trying to massage our understanding,” he said.
In speaking about Ertmoed’s sexual fantasies, he also noted the use of words like person, individual and woman, instead of child, saying he felt like he was “bending your arm to get you to admit you were fantasizing about children.”
In a victim impact statement, Heather’s mother Jody Aspin asked the parole board when her family could start the grieving process.
“Every year around the anniversary of Heather’s abduction, rape and murder, Shane Ertmoed … demand(s) yet another privilege he believes he deserves,” she said. “I am sorry, he does not.”
“Why is this being allowed?” she continued. “Why are the victims not taken into consideration when these requests are being put through? Shane Ertmoed has been victimizing me and my family for the last 24 years … Every time I get that phone call that there is yet another demand, I am paralyzed with fear.”
Thomas said she often relives the day her daughter died. After being forced to do so time and time again, she has “hit bottom,” struggling with depression and anxiety. “I cry at home, work, grocery stores and the car on a daily basis.”
“Why can’t Shane Ertmoed just let us victims grieve?” she asked. “How can we ever recover any sort of normal in our lives if he continues to terrorize us? Why is this being allowed?”
The hearing took place on Vancouver Island, where Ertmoed remains in a minimum-security facility. In 2021, the parole board granted him escorted absences from prison. Heather’s family was notified that he would be volunteering with a non-profit organization to clean up parks and trails.
In denying Ertmoed’s application for day parole, the board said he was “headed in the right direction” in working toward rehabilitation and he has “reintegration potential” if he continues to do the work.