'Sociopathic' animal killer to be released on probation
WARNING: This story contains disturbing content
CBC News
Posted: Nov 29, 2012 10:57 AM PT
Last Updated: Nov 29, 2012 4:09 PM PT
A 22-year-old B.C. woman who admitted to taking delight in killing animals and fantasizing about shooting homeless people is set to be released on probation with strict conditions.
One psychologist who spoke with Kayla Bourque ahead of her sentencing Wednesday in Vancouver Provincial Court testified she will likely require supervision for the rest of her life.
Other doctors described her as a sexual sadist and narcissist with anti-social personality disorder and sociopathic tendencies.
"It is clear that Ms. Bourque is a very unique and troubling case," said Judge Malcolm Maclean as he delivered what he described as "probably one of the most comprehensive probation orders I've ever done."
Bourque pleaded guilty in October to killing or injuring an animal, causing unnecessary suffering and pain to an animal and possessing a knife and was arrested earlier this year.
She has already been in custody for six months, but MacLean gave her an additional two months in custody, in part so probation officials can prepare for her highly supervised release.
The urge to "kill someone"
Adopted from a Romanian orphanage at the age of eight months, Bourque grew up in Prince George. While in high school, Maclean said she admitted to having the urge to "kill someone."
After graduation, she enrolled in criminology and psychology at Simon Fraser University.
While living in residence last March, she told another student she had disembowelled and dismembered cats in the Prince George area and that she fantasized about getting a gun and shooting a homeless person.
She also said she wanted to kill someone in residence and was taking forensic classes because she wanted to "get away" with something in the future.
MacLean said the classmate told campus security, who alerted police.
Bourque was initially arrested under the Mental Health Act and a search of her residence later turned up a blue nylon bag with a kitchen knife, a razor blade, three large garbage bags, a hypodermic needle and a mask.
Police also found video clips depicting her killing and hanging the family dog.
"She narrated part of the video as she eviscerated the dog," MacLean said.
Another video depicted Bourque torturing the family's cat.
"It is clear the animals would have suffered significantly prior to their deaths."
The Crown stayed separate charges of possession of child pornography. Several psychologists have interviewed Bourque, who shows no remorse or insight into her crimes and nature.
"While intelligent and articulate," MacLean said. "She had a preoccupation for causing pain."
3 years of probation
On Wednesday afternoon, Bourque sat quietly beside her lawyer as others discussed the stringent requirements needed to keep her from re-offending during a three-year probation period.
A slight figure with dark long hair styled into braids, she nodded as the judge spoke to her directly about the importance of complying with probation.
MacLean said Bourque's mother does not want her daughter living in the family home. Once released from jail, a Vancouver police high risk offender team will escort her to her new residence.
She's not allowed to have anyone in her home from 6 pm to 6 am and anyone who does visit must be made fully aware of the charges she pleaded guilty to and their circumstances.
She can't associate with anyone under the age of 18 or possess computer software to access the internet. MacLean also forbade her from accessing social networking sites or possessing duct tape, hypodermic needles or knives.
The probation order will be reviewed in three months after her release from custody. MacLean also banned Bourque from owning any animals for life.
Share Tools
Latest British Columbia News Headlines
- Half of First Nations children live in poverty
- Half of status First Nations children in Canada live in poverty, a troubling figure that jumps to nearly two-thirds in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, says a newly released report. more »
- B.C. backcountry mobile maps cause concern
- The BC Search and Rescue Association is raising concerns about a set of free, high-resolution topographical backcountry maps released by the provincial government on Tuesday. more »
- B.C. teacher duct-taped students' mouths
- The B.C. Teacher Regulation Branch has reprimanded a Vancouver teacher after she duct-taped her students' mouths in an effort to keep them quiet. more »
- Canadian border agents being impersonated in phone scam
- The Canada Border Services Agency is warning Canadians of a possible phone scam and fraud. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- 30,000 Canadians are homeless every night
- A new national report into homelessness in this country tells a grim story — at least 200,000 Canadians experience homelessness in any given year and least 30,000 Canadians are homeless on any given night. more »
- Obesity called a disease by U.S. doctors group
- In order to fight what it described as an "obesity epidemic," the American Medical Association voted to recognize obesity as a disease and recommended a number of measures to fight it. more »
- Neil Macdonald: Washington's obsession with leakers
- Julian Assange and Edward Snowden are just the most prominent targets in an all-out legal and propaganda campaign that America's security apparatus is mounting against leakers everywhere, Neil Macdonald writes. more »
- How open is Ottawa's new 'open data' website?
- Treasury Board President Tony Clement is touting the federal government's revamped data portal as a "new natural resource." But that online window for previously published data arrives at the same time the government faces controversy over just how open it really is. more »
- Police probe death of woman, 27, in Kelowna home
- Hundreds attend 'Change Brazil' protest in Vancouver
- Parents of son 'brutally beaten' playing hockey want charges
- Failed condo pre-sale deal costs Vancouver buyer $750K
- Police probe Mohinder graffiti in East Vancouver
- Cross Canada bike stolen from B.C. senior
- Vancouver airport CEO takes aim at cross-border travellers
- The class photo that made a father cry
- Prison guard files murder trauma claim

