FRAMBOISE, N.S. — A Richmond County man convicted in the strangulation death of his mother has been granted full parole with conditions.
Merlin Demers-Kennedy, now 37, pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter in relation to the death of his 57-year-old mother, Michelle Demers-Kennedy, who was last seen alive on May 3, 2013.
She was reported missing on Mother’s Day, May 12 of that year, and her remains were unearthed from a burial site in a wooded area off North Framboise Road in May 2015.
Her son was initially charged with second-degree murder but pleaded guilty to the included offences of manslaughter.
He was sentenced in June 2015 to 10 years and with credit for time spent on remand, his sentence amounted to seven years, nine months and 21 days.
Demers-Kennedy admitted to strangling his mother with a rope and burying her body.
In a statement to RCMP, Demers-Kennedy said he went to his mother’s house in May 2013 with the intention "to take her to the police so I could stop her from raping me."
There was no evidence presented at his sentencing hearing to prove or disprove such a claim.
When questioned about what caused the death, Demers-Kennedy said, "a piece of rope ... three feet of rope," adding he put it around her neck prior to placing her in the trunk of his car.
He told investigators he put her body somewhere "nobody else could find it."
He wrapped it in construction plastic and sprayed it with Pine Sol so that animals wouldn't interfere with the remains. He would later assist police in locating the remains.
At the time of sentence the court was told Demers-Kennedy suffered extensive emotional and physical abuse as a child at the hands of his father who died as a result of an all-terrain vehicle accident. At age 13, he also found the body of his 11-year-old brother after he had hung himself from a tree in the woods. Demers-Kennedy is the eldest of five children.
He had received a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and at the time of the crime he had stopped taking his medication.
In granting full parole, a two-member panel of the national parole board ordered that Demers-Kennedy live at a community correctional or residential facility for four months with conditions that he only consume prescribed medication, he follow a treatment plan for his mental health and he take his medication as prescribed by his physician.
“The board acknowledges you have made gains and have acquired skills and tools to identify and manage risk factors,” states the board decision.
“The board is satisfied from studying your file and from the comments and examples you gave at your hearing, that you have gained insight into your criminality during this sentence.”
The boarded noted that Demers-Kennedy recorded no infractions while in custody.
“Overall, the board believes you have been engaged and motivated and that you have made measurable and observable changes.”
