Convicted killer Tristan Ryan has been granted day parole to the dismay of his victim’s family
Ryan stabbed 16-year-old Stephanie Spooner to death in 1991 in her Okotoks home after she broke up with him. At the time Ryan was named Bradley Paetsch and was 18-years-old. He lived in Okotoks and attended to Foothills Composite High School, but had been kicked out by his mother and was living with a friend in Calgary at the time of the murder.
On Wednesday a two-member board reviewed Ryan’s case and heard from him, his wife, who he married in jail, and Stephanie’s sister-in-law, Robin Spooner.
Panel members said they were there to assess the risk Ryan would pose to the community if he was granted day parole.
Prior to the hearing, Ryan was on a work release from Monday to Friday at a public facility in building maintenance, where he was driven from the institution and picked up at the end of the day. He also had 72 hours of unescorted absences per month to spend with his wife, who he married five years ago in jail.
Day parole will allow Ryan to spend more time with his wife on weekdays before and after work and on weekends. He will have to return to the prison at night and will have a curfew. His case team can also approve overnight stays at his home.
Robin Spooner pleaded with the board to not give Ryan any more freedom and to keep him away from Stephanie’s family.
“Naturally we do not agree with any type of parole being granted,” Spooner told the board in her victim impact statement. “We would like to have peace knowing that he is behind bars for the rest of his natural life.”
Spooner asked that if day parole was granted that Ryan be barred from travelling anywhere in Alberta south of Calgary to the American border. She said they dread running into Ryan.
“How that would feel for my husband, my children or any family to come face to face with him in public,” she said. “It would mentally and physically destroy us even more than we already are. Our lives have been destroyed and disrupted enough. We should be able to live our lives as we want and have our children do the same. We are not the ones that committed a crime.”
The board restricted Ryan’s movements to a 100-kilometre radius of Drumheller Institution. He is banned from Okotoks and must avoid contact with Stephanie’s family.
Spooner said she was surprised by the decision to grant more parole for Ryan.
“I honestly was shocked after sitting through the hearing and listening to their comments and questions,” she said.
Ryan’s answers and tearful apologies to the family didn’t help, Spooner said.
“Sitting through that yesterday, I felt like he doesn’t get it and I seriously question whether he fully understands the gravity of what he’s done,” she said.
Ryan told the board prior to killing Stephanie he had no self worth due to sexual abuse that happened to him at a summer camp and abandonment issues he had with his father.
It was the second time Ryan had attacked Spooner with a knife when he killed her. He had slashed her with a knife previously. On the day he killed her, Stephanie’s grandmother was coming to get her to bring her back to Vancouver to get away from Ryan.
He told the board he took a knife to Spooner’s house that day and planned on killing her.
“I’d formed in my mind, I was totally alone and now Stephanie was leaving me and something snapped,” he said. “I couldn’t control it anymore. There was no consideration of consequences.”
He said it took 10 years in prison before he wanted to work with psychologists and others in the system to address his issues.
Ryan broke down in tears at the end of the hearing as he apologized for killing Stephanie.
“It’s with me every day,” he said. “I’m sorry for what I did. I’m doing what I can to move on with my life. It took a number of years to forgive myself…The best I can do is recognize what I’ve done, to give some purpose some semblance to my life. I’d hope that Stephanie would hope I’d move on with my life. That I wouldn’t waste it.”
The board required Ryan take counseling for early life issues and anger management while he is on day parole. He is also banned from consuming alcohol and drugs. He will continue to report to his parole officer, psychologist and community support team while on day parole.
An office review of Ryan’s day parole will occur. It can either be continued, cancelled or changed after six months. The next step after day parole is full parole. A hearing may or may not be scheduled if full parole is recommended by his case workers or if he applies for full parole.
