A man serving time for having killed a passenger in his car while driving impaired in LaSalle and for strangling his ex-girlfriend has been denied parole because his violent behaviour continues while behind bars.
Ryan Patrick McPhee, 36, has served time in the past for his role in the April 2, 1995, deaths of Jocelyn and Frank Toope, an elderly couple who were murdered in their home in Beaconsfield. McPhee, who was 14 at the time, and two other youths broke into the home because they believed the Toopes were on vacation. McPhee testified about his role in the murders in adult court, in 2012, and admitted he struck Frank Toope, a 75-year-old Anglican minister, with a baseball bat while the couple were attacked. Jocelyn Toope was 70 at the time of the murders. McPhee received 3-year sentence, as a youth, after being convicted of second-degree murder.
The murders are mentioned in a decision made recently by the Parole Board of Canada denying McPhee any form of release on the 39-month sentence he received in 2014 for his most recent crimes.
“You have showed violent behaviour on a number of occasions and have caused the death of three (people) through your criminal life. You offer poor credibility to respect parole conditions,” the author of a written summary of the parole board’s decision noted.
The third person referred to in the decision was Derek Pion, 38, a man who was a passenger in McPhee’s car, on Dec. 1, 2010, when it crashed into a tractor-trailer parked on Labatt Ave. in LaSalle. Pion died as a result of the injuries he suffered in the crash.
Four years later, McPhee pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death and a series of other crimes and was sentenced to his current prison term. The sentence includes an assault conviction. In June 2011, while out on a release in the impaired driving case, McPhee showed up at his ex-girlfriend’s home, punched her and then strangled her. The woman managed to break free and sought help. During the attack McPhee found a photograph of the woman’s new boyfriend and set it on fire while threatening to burn down her home.
According to the parole board’s written summary, McPhee has continued to act violently while behind bars. He has been involved in altercations with other inmates, has intimidated Correctional Service Canada personnel and had to be transferred to a maximum-security penitentiary in May 2015.
McPhee’s case-management team, the people who help prepare an inmate for a release, noticed a change in his attitude late last year. He seemed to be open to address what contributes to his criminality and asked to start seeing a psychologist. But the summary notes he has “not been able to participate (in) your (rehabilitation) program because of your misbehaviour. Therefore, your risk of recidivism and your dangerousness levels have not changed. The board cannot see observable and measurable changes.”
