Penny Boudreau, the Nova Scotia woman convicted of second-degree murder in the death of her 12-year-old daughter, Karissa, has had her day parole extended.
For John Elliott, a retired Southwest Nova RCMP Major Crimes sergeant who worked on the original case, it’s a disappointing outcome.
“(Karissa’s) not a statistic. She was a person. She was a little girl,” Elliott said.
In January 2008, Boudreau reported her daughter missing and told police the two had an argument.
Boudreau would later appeal for information from the public in a news conference alongside police.
“Not knowing where your kids are is horrible. Karissa, we love you,” an emotional Boudreau told the reporters and cameras.
Karissa’s body was discovered along an embankment in Bridgewater, N.S., on Feb. 9, 2008, and was positioned in such a way to suggest she had been sexually assaulted.
Elliott, alongside his team, secured a confession from Boudreau about how she strangled her daughter and disposed of her body on the banks of the LaHave River.
Boudreau would later be charged with first-degree murder in her death, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder.
Court heard that Boudreau’s former boyfriend had given her an “ultimatum” that either he or her daughter would have to go. There was a strained relationship between Karissa and her stepfather.
“Had I known this was going to happen, I would never, ever let her go back, but what parent’s going to say no you can’t go and see your mother?” Karissa’s father, Paul Boudreau, told Global News in 2009.
Penny Boudreau was sentenced to life in prison in January 2009.
“Penny should have spent — should be spending — more time in jail for taking that life. It was second-degree murder, but it was, it was in my mind, first-degree murder,” said Elliott.
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“There was plans to that and it was horrendous.”
Beginning in 2018, Boudreau has received escorted passes to attend church. In June 2025, she received an unescorted pass from prison for 60 days.
She was granted day parole in December 2025, which has now been extended six more months.
Elliott has been to several parole hearings, saying he “made a point of definitely being there.”
“I didn’t hear a whole lot of remorse, to be quite honest with you,” Elliott recalled.
“There was very little emphasis on the victim or the victim’s family, Karissa’s family, Karissa herself. There was very little emphasis on that. It was all about Penny and the steps she has made towards her application to get that day parole.”
In its decision, the Parole Board of Canada noted Boudreau’s crimes were violent and caused irreversible harm, not only to Karissa and her family but to the broader community.
The parole board said the crime demonstrated a significant lack of control, empathy, and consideration of the consequences of her actions.
Despite this, the board wrote, “At the same time, Penny does not have a prior criminal history and has successfully completed correctional programming. Her ability and commitment to applying the skills needed to manager her risk factors have improved and are now assessed as good. Furthermore, actuarial data suggests she is at low risk to reoffend.”
Elliott says he’s now further “disappointed for sure” to hear the parole has been extended for six months.
The decision has sparked outrage online, with the public and especially the Bridgewater community shocked.
But with this new development, Elliott hopes the public refocuses their attention on Karissa.
“There is a ripple effect. And it did affect the community in in a big way,” he said, adding Karissa’s life was cut short and her potential was taken away.
“There was so much more, so much more she could have offered.”
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