Calgary murder suspect’s parole review showed ‘low to moderate risk to reoffend’

Christopher Dunlop, who is accused in the second-degree murder of Judy Maerz, was previously convicted in the death of Laura Furlan.

In 2009, he’s said to have choked Furlan during sex, later dumping her naked body in a park.

While he was accused of first-degree murder, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced in 2015 to 13 years in prison for the crime. He was given credit for 6.5 years served and was recently released.

A Parole Board of Canada decision deemed Dunlop a “low to moderate risk to reoffend.” According to parole documents, he initially told police that what happened was a consensual act that went wrong.

In 2017, while in prison, those documents also show that Dunlop completed a sex offender program and was reported to be an active participant with a good understanding of the material and concepts.

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Alcohol was deemed a risk factor to reoffend and an assessment identified a link between substance abuse and his crime.

Other risk factors included pornography and feelings of rejection and being used, the documents explain, but the parole board says Dunlop appeared to have the motivation to keep his risk low.

He was released from prison recently and was charged last week in connection with Maerz’s death, after her body was found at Deerfoot Athletics Park in February.

Christopher Dunlop. (CityNews archives, Facebook)

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Hilla Kerner with the Canadian Association of Sex Assault Centres says there need to be more measures in place to ensure previously convicted offenders don’t reoffend once they are released.

“We want to have a real, meaningful assurance that, when a man is known to the criminal justice system, whether because there were charges against him or because he was already convicted, the system puts some means in place to supervise, monitor, and make sure this man does not execute his freedom to harm, sometimes, in this case, kill women,” Kerner said.

“There needs to be a system in place to constantly evaluate, monitor, and supervise their actions, because some of them continue to possess a very high level of threat to women.”

Dunlop’s next court appearance is April 6.