A man serving a life sentence for the murders of two Prince George women will remain behind bars for some time yet after his bid for parole was turned down.
In a decision reached May 15 for Brian Peter Arp, 59, a Parole Board of Canada panel agreed with professional opinion that the reasons for his actions remain unknown and "makes it extremely difficult to manage your risk in the community."
Also at issue was Arp's continued denial of committing the crimes.
In March 1995, a Quesnel jury found Arp guilty of killing Marie Blanchard, 18, in 1989 and Theresa Umphrey, 38, in 1993. He was sentenced to serve at least 25 years in prison before becoming eligible to apply for parole.
During the time he has served, Arp has been convicted of 13 institutional charges and had been involved in 15 incidents, though none involved violence.
Arp told the panel he was angry when he was convicted and sent to prison and had a confrontational attitude and would often refuse to comply with institutional rules. But in 2015, he changed his attitude following a conversation with family members and a realization his behaviour was compromising his ability to reach his "'end goal' which is to get out of prison."
According to the decision, Arp also conceded he did not feel he was ready for day or full parole and worried he would be overwhelmed if let out into the community. Instead, Arp said he intends to follow his correctional plan with the goal of gaining transfer to a minimum-security institution.
For the past 18 months, Arp has had clearance to work outside the institution perimeter but still within the limits of the penitentiary lands and has been working as a mechanic in the institution.
The full decision is posted with this story at www.princegeorgecitizen.ca.
