Man who murdered family in Wells Gray Park in 1982 withdraws from parole review

NEWS — The man who murdered six members of an extended family 32 years ago has withdrawn his application for day parole and waived his right to a full parole review.

David Ennis, then known as David William Shearing, was convicted in a Kamloops courtroom of killing George and Edith Bentley, their daughter Jackie Johnson and her husband Bob, and their two daughters Janet, 13, and Karen, 11.

The Bentleys were from Port Coquitlam while the Johnsons lived in Westbank. They were camping in Wells Gray Provincial Park in August 1982 when Ennis shot and killed the adults and took the girls hostage, killing them a few days later.

Ennis pleaded guilty in 1984 to six counts of second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

He had been scheduled for a Parole Board of Canada hearing Sept. 4.

Family representative Tammy Arishenkoff posted today on Facebook:

“Got the call this morning and David Ennis (Shearing) has waived his right to a full parole review as well as withdrawn his application for day parole!

“Considering he hasn’t even seen our impact statements yet, this is a testament to the power of the people. THANK YOU to everyone who signed a petition, got signatures, sent in a letter and supported us.

“With hope, our legislation will change and we will not have to do this for another 5-7 years.”

A petition to keep Ennis in prison collected 15,258 signatures.

Ennis, who is serving his life sentence at Bowden Institution in Alberta, applied for parole twice previously. In his second application for release in September, 2012, Ennis apologized for his actions.

“I continue to be shamed, thoughtful and aware of the devastation I have caused,” he said in a story in The Kamloops Daily News at the time.

However, his parole was denied.

“It’s quite hard to imagine any crimes more serious or more reprehensible than the ones you committed,” the board said after the 2012 hearing at the Bowden prison north of Calgary.

“There still is present a large number of risk concerns.”

The reasons for Ennis’ decision not to follow through with the parole board hearing haven’t been released.