A Sooke man who killed his mother in a self-induced crystal meth psychosis in 2014 and is deemed by the parole board to have a “propensity for violence” has been released to a residential facility in the community.
Michael James McCormick pleaded guilty to the manslaughter death of his mother, Pamella Dyer, 64, who was found dead in her French Road home on July 20, 2014, by a friend who went to check on her.
Dyer died from asphyxia likely caused by 25 fractures to the ribs, a blood clot to the lungs and a person lying on her body, court heard during McCormick’s sentencing hearing.
McCormick received a 12-year sentence. With credit for time served in pre-trial custody, he had just under 8.5 years remaining when he was sentenced in January 2017.
He received a statutory release in 2022 after serving two-thirds of his sentence.
By law, most offenders who are not serving life sentences must be released with supervision after serving two-thirds of their sentence, if they have not already been granted parole. They are required to report to a parole officer and stay within defined geographic boundaries, and in some instances, they can be required to live in a halfway house.
Offenders can be returned to custody if they violate the conditions of their statutory release or are believed to present an undue risk to the public, which is what happened after McCormick was released in 2022.
His release was revoked in March 2024 after he was caught driving while intoxicated by cannabis and intimidating parking attendants. He had been suspended three times before the parole board revoked his release.
When McCormick was returned to custody, his new statutory release date was recalculated as two-thirds of his remaining sentence, leading to his release in January.
McCormick, who is now in his mid-40s, is required to live in a residential facility and is under several conditions imposed by the parole board, including a ban on consuming alcohol or drugs.
He must take his medication for what the parole board calls “significant mental health issues” to mitigate his risk of reoffending, follow a treatment plan for substance use and violence, not have any contact with his family — other than his children — and stay out of the area from Ladysmith to Parksville without permission from his parole supervisor.
McCormick had been heavily using crystal methamphetamine and had not slept for several days before he killed his mother, the recent parole board decision said.
In an interview with police, he claimed he was in a blackout and did not remember the killing, and that he believed his mother was “a creature from another planet.”
McCormick has a long history of psychological difficulties, including being hospitalized for suicidal thoughts, delusional and paranoid behaviour, drug-induced psychosis and overdose.
His delusional behaviour increases with his consumption of methamphetamine, making it crucial that he remain sober, the parole board said.
“The board believes that you have difficulties in controlling your violent tendencies and require additional monitoring and supervision in the community,” it said.
At his sentencing hearing in 2017, McCormick apologized to his family and his mother’s friends.
“I’ve destroyed so many people’s lives and I’m so sorry for that,” he said.
Dyer had been trying to get help for her son for years before her death, begging him to stop using drugs, but he was not interested, the court heard during his sentencing.
