The father of a man convicted in a brutal murder in Tsawwassen over a quarter century ago has lost an appeal on a trespassing conviction involving the prison where his son is incarcerated.
A B.C. Supreme Court judge last week rejected an appeal by David William Lord on his conviction for trespassing at Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford. He received a sentence of two years' probation.
David William Lord is the father of Derik Lord, one of three teens convicted in the killing of a mother and grandmother in a murder-for-hire inheritance plot in 1990.
Lord had gone to the main entrance of the prison in June 2015 to visit his son, only to be told by a correctional manager that his visitation privileges had been suspended and he was not allowed on the property. Lord refused to leave, so Abbotsford police were called.
Awaiting arrival of the police, Lord decided to walk along a perimeter fence in a restricted area, out of bounds to the public, and interact with prisoners who were outside.
The judge noted the senior Lord, who has mounted several challenges to what he strongly believes was the wrongful conviction of his son, appealed Parole Board of Canada rulings denying him visiting rights.
Having not seen his son for two years, Lord said he is aging and in failing health, and fears he will not see his son before he dies. He also said that he had never been told what he needed to do to satisfy any security concerns prison officials had in order to see his son.
The judge noted Lord's argument that the visitation ban infringed on his charter rights had no relevance to his trespass offence.
According to police, Derik Lord and friend David Muir were hired by Darren Huenemann to kill his mother and grandmother, Sharon Huenemann and Doris Leatherbarrow, so he could get a multi-million dollar inheritance.
The three teens lived in Saanich at the time and at trial the prosecution argued that on the day of the murders, Oct. 5, 1990, Huenemann and his girlfriend dropped Lord and Muir off at the ferry terminal. The pair then went to Leatherbarrow's Tsawwassen home and, after being invited in for dinner by the two women, bludgeoned and stabbed them to death.
Following an investigation, all three were arrested, tried and convicted. Lord began serving his sentence on June 3, 1992.
Lord and Muir were both sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years. Huenemann received a life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.
After his conviction, Muir, who had pleaded not guilty at trial, admitted his role in the murders and has been out on parole for over a decade. He was granted day parole in April 2002 and full parole a year later.
Lord has never changed his story and at his last parole hearing continued to insist he is innocent.
