Mother of Edmonton homicide victim feels blindsided as accused killer granted bail
CBC
The mother of an Edmonton woman killed last September says she was blindsided to learn the man accused in her daughter's homicide has been granted bail.
Collin Boucher-Gionet, 34, charged with second-degree murder and indignity to human remains in the death of his girlfriend Aylissa Rovere, has been granted release on house arrest.
Boucher-Gionet has a criminal history with the courts and was on probation at the time of the alleged killing.
Rovere's mother, Jodi Dunn, said she can't fathom why Boucher-Gionet has been granted additional freedoms.
"He's up for murder and to release someone like him, who has been in trouble before, it's just another slap on the wrist," Dunn said. "It doesn't make sense."
A release order filed with the Court of King's Bench on March 7 details the conditions of his release.
With a cash deposit bail of $2,500, Boucher-Gionet will remain on 24-hour house arrest under the supervision of a surety. The conditions bar him from consuming illicit drugs or alcohol, from carrying weapons, and from contacting any of 24 people, including Dunn.
A bail hearing that had been scheduled for the Court of King's Bench on March 7 was cancelled after the Crown consented to the release conditions.
Dunn said she feels on edge. She had hoped he would remain in the custody of the Edmonton Remand Centre.
"This is going to affect a lot of people's lives," she said. "And as far as I'm concerned, there should be an outcry. What is our justice system doing?"
In a statement to CBC, Boucher-Gionet's lawyer said her client is constitutionally entitled to be presumed innocent and get reasonable bail, regardless of the allegations against him.
"As no one can predict the future, bail is about mitigating risk," Stacey Purser wrote.
"The two very experienced Crown counsel on the file felt that the conditions we proposed, including house arrest with surety supervision, adequately mitigated any risk to the public."
The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service has declined to comment specifically on Boucher-Gionet's release.
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