Family not satisfied with report

By Roger Knox - Vernon Morning Star - May 07, 2008

William Abramenko’s family still wants somebody to take responsibility for their father’s murder. The Vernon senior was killed in a home invasion in August 2004. Eric Fish, a parolee who had been unlawfully at large from Vernon’s then-halfway house Howard House for nearly two months, was arrested two days after Abramenko’s death and charged with his murder. Fish pleaded guilty to second degree murder in connection with the incident in November, 2007. A joint report from a board of investigation conducted by the National Parole Board and Correctional Services Canada exonerated those responsible for the management of Fish while he was serving parole in Vernon. The report said there were no factors that would have led those responsible for Fish to believe he’d commit a serious offence.“Our biggest feelings (about the report) are that there’s a lot of finger pointing, but no one is being accountable,” said Rosanne Maitland, Abramenko’s daughter. “Nothing’s changed because no one still wants to be accountable.”The investigation following Abramenko’s death, said the report, “has not identified any precipitating factors in this case which would have led those involved in the management of Fish in the community to believe that the offence would have occurred.”

Barb Levesque, executive director of the North Okanagan branch of the John Howard Society, said the society is pleased that the report shows the halfway house as being in full compliance with its contract, and the detailed policies and procedures laid out by Corrections Canada and the National Parole Board. The society also shares the Abramenko’s goal of finding answers to their many questions. “Our sympathies lie with the Abramenko family, and the tragedy they’ve had to live through,” said Levesque. “We want to extend our support for their search for answers. They deserve to have answers, as victims of this horrific crime.” Fish was missing for at least seven weeks from the halfway house. Despite a couple of sightings, RCMP did not find Fish until two days after Abramenko’s murder. While the halfway house and police took the brunt of the criticism following the death, Levesque said the John Howard Society is moving forward. “We’re continuing to do work with the people that we feel need to be supported for full integration into society,” said Levesque.The old facility is used today as a 24-bed men’s emergency shelter, and there are residential beds for men who are working or who can pay rent.

Asked if the report provides enough answers to warrant the facility opening again as a halfway house, Maitland, emphatically, said no.“Vernon, or any community based upon this report, would be pressed to find a valid enough reason to take on that kind of risk in its community again,” said Maitland, whose family has a civil lawsuit pending against the National Parole Board, Corrections Canada, the John Howard Society and the RCMP in connection with their father’s death.Levesque said, at this time, the society is not entertaining thoughts of being a service agency for a new halfway house in the community.Vernon RCMP accepted the recommendations made in the joint parole board/corrections investigation report. Insp. Steve McVarnock said tremendous strides have been made in terms of how parolees and others on conditions are managed in the community.