Federal parole documents shed light on ongoing concerns about the risks posed by a woman charged in the killing of a young Edmonton security guard.
Evan Rain and Judith Saulteaux, both 30, were each charged with first-degree murder in the death of 20-year-old Harshandeep Singh on Dec. 6.
Neither appear to have been residents of the central Edmonton apartment building where Singh was shot. In court documents, Rain has no listed address, while Saulteaux’s home is listed as a building in a different neighbourhood.
Both accused have a lengthy history with the justice system, including federal prison terms.
Criminal charges against Rain date back to 2012, while Saulteaux’s record begins in 2013, with court documents showing 12 months of probation for assault.
She was first sent to prison in January 2016 with a two-year sentence for a violent robbery.
At the time, she was also facing aggravated assault charges for stabbing two people in 2015. The victims were seriously injured, according to Parole Board of Canada documents — one victim suffered a collapsed lung and a punctured bowel, and the other had to have both his legs amputated below the knee after developing an infection from his wounds.
The robbery took place in 2014, with parole documents detailing how Saulteaux approached two women, who were 58 and 69 at the time, and asked for money and car keys. She grabbed one of the victims, but when that woman managed to get free, Saulteaux put the other in a headlock and stole her phone.
Saulteaux said she was “living in desperation on the street,” and she remembered very little of what happened because she was extremely intoxicated.
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Parole documents say the judge in the case set the two-year sentence — the minimum length for a federal prison term — in part so Saulteaux would have access to federal corrections programming to address her “serious” alcohol addiction.
The records describe Saulteaux’s “extensive and very traumatic Indigenous social history,” with one parole board decision describing her upbringing as “horrendous.”
Saulteaux reported she was exposed to violence and substance abuse as a child, and ended up largely disconnected from her culture.
“As an extension of these experiences, you gravitated to alcohol, drugs, an abusive partner, self-harm, street life and crime,” one parole decision reads.
“Your education was interrupted and you have little employment history. Despite these experiences being largely beyond your control, they set the stage for criminal behaviour.”
Concerns over violent reactions
People serving fixed prison sentences are eligible for statutory release two-thirds of the way through their sentence. They’re supervised in the community, under conditions, for the remaining time.
Saulteaux’s statutory release on the robbery conviction was set for May 8, 2017. But the Parole Board of Canada’s assessment expressed concerns, noting her history shows “there appears to be an emerging pattern of escalating offending involving the use of weapons.”
The board said Saulteaux had completed some programming in custody, but demonstrated a lack of interest, with no evidence of progress.
In May 2017, a little more than two weeks after her eligibility for statutory release, Saulteaux was handed a new five-year prison sentence in the stabbing case. She pleaded guilty, according to records.
The parole board denied her day parole application in 2019, noting dozens of problematic incidents in custody, including assaults against other inmates. Her parole officer told the board that Saulteaux had come a long way, with efforts to change her patterns and learn new coping skills, but she was still at risk of reacting violently if “put in a corner.”
Saulteaux began her statutory release in February 2020, but within a year, she was back in custody.
The parole board decision revoking her release notes Saulteaux was doing well at first — she was following her addictions treatment program and participating in cultural activities, and she was employed.
But the parole board describes an escalating pattern of dishonesty and “manipulative behaviour,” including Saulteaux admitting that she falsely accused a man she had been dating of assault. The problems culminated in a search of her room that found a knife, bank cards and a forged cheque.
‘A predictable downward path’
The final parole board decision in Saulteaux’s record is from Sept. 2, 2021, imposing a condition that she live in a community-based residential facility or psychiatric facility during statutory release.
The board wrote that while there were times in custody that Saulteaux engaged in counselling and received support and guidance from elders, there were still significant concerns about her risk.
“It is questionable as to whether you are anywhere near being in control of your behaviour,” parole board member Patrick O’Brien wrote.
“Segregation and transfers have done little to truly curb your worst impulses.… Until such time that you demonstrate a sincere effort and formally commit to working openly with others, the risk you pose to following what has become a predictable downward path, to include acts of violence and Schedule I offences, is pronounced.”
Saulteaux and Rain are both currently in custody. They’re scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 8.