The man considered to be the mastermind behind a murder-for-hire inheritance plot in 1990 in Tsawwassen has had his first chance at parole denied.
Darren Huenemann, who has since changed his name to Gowan, was convicted in 1992 of hiring two friends to kill his mother and grandmother.
Huenemann appeared before the parole board at his Quebec prison Tuesday where his request was denied. The decision and the reasons why were not immediately made public by the parole board.
Derik Lord and friend David Muir were hired by 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 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 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. Lord is scheduled to appear at another parole hearing later this month.
