Ed Dakin, a former Guelph realtor who murdered a Guelph woman and her teenage daughter 30 years ago by pouring gasoline on them and setting them on fire, has been granted full parole.
Dakin murdered Jackie Kaulback and her daughter Julie, 16, on Jan. 25, 1989.
The 76-year-old Dakin had been on day parole but was granted full parole at a hearing last month by a two-member parole board panel. For the past 17 months he has been living at a halfway house.
As they have for virtually every parole hearing Dakin has attempted to get parole at, members of the Kaulback family, including Jackie's two sons and Julie's brothers, attended the hearing.
"Victim statements on file document the long-term pain and suffering endured by the victims, and their family members, several of whom made the trip to observe the hearing today," the parole board decision states.
"The Board attributes weight to the victim statement presented at the hearing. Even after 30 years, their loss and commitment to honour their loved ones have not abated."
One of the reasons for granting full parole in the written decision was that the board "notes that you have come to accept responsibility and are accountable for the killings of the victims."
Dakin's continued refusal to accept full responsibility for the murders, claiming it was an accident and that he only meant to scare his former girlfriend, was one of the reasons he has been denied parole in the past.
He had been granted day parole previously.
He spends a lot of time with his daughter, plans on living in a one-bedroom apartment near her and volunteering with a local woodworking group.
The parole board noted Dakin's "advanced age and poor health."
"The Board is mindful of the tragic loss of two lives and the ensuing pain and suffering to their families as noted by the presence of victim family members at the hearing today. The Board is compelled to remind you that you are serving a life sentence and you will be under supervision for the rest of your life. As you indicated, you think about the victims every day and you have taken extra care to relocate from the area in order to avoid further harm to the victims' family members."
On Jan. 25, 1989, Dakin went to the Kaulback family home on Victoria Road. Jackie had recently ended her relationship with Dakin, who was married, and Dakin was upset, spending most of the day drinking.
He went up the stairs at the home and opened Jackie Kaulback's bedroom, where she lay sleeping with Julie.
He poured a jar of gasoline on them and set them on fire. Jackie and Julie Kaulback eventually died from their injuries in a Hamilton Hospital.
Dakin drove away from the scene and phoned his wife, only calling an ambulance for himself from the side of Highway 401 in Milton because he had burned hands.
Dakin pled not guilty but was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without eligibility for parole for 25 years.
Throughout the trial and at numerous parole hearings since then, Dakin has never admitted to intending to kill the Kaulbacks, maintaining it was not him who ignited the gasoline and that all he intended to do was scare Jackie. As a condition of his release, Dakin is not permitted in Wellington County or Woolwich Township and cannot have any direct or indirect contact with the victims' family.
He is also banned from drinking alcohol or going to bars.
