VANCOUVER – The Justice Ministry in B.C. has issued an unusual public warning about a female, high-risk violent offender who’s been released from jail.
The ministry’s corrections branch said Monday that 23-year-old Kayla Bourque has an “escalating criminal history” and plans to live in Vancouver.
In September 2009, Bourque was convicted of killing animals, causing unnecessary pain and suffering or injury to animals.
In March 2012, she was found guilty of possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, but charges of possessing child pornography were stayed. She was sentenced to one month in jail and three years of probation.
The branch said Bourque has also offended violently against people, is being closely monitored by authorities and has 46 court-ordered conditions she must follow.
The woman has a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and isn’t allowed to access social networking sites.
Bourque is also forbidden from possessing any weapons, including knives or other bladed instruments, except to prepare food, and must stay away from people under age 18.
The petite, 130 pound woman, studied criminology and psychology at Simon Fraser University last year.
Prof. Rob Gordon, who heads the criminology department at SFU, said the university called police after another student told a teaching assistant that Bourque mentioned some of her crimes and that she may have spoken about her fantasies of killing a homeless person.
“She expressed an interest in harming other people,” Gordon said, adding Bourque killed her family’s dog and cat in Prince George, B.C.
Gordon said police executed search warrants, including one for Bourque’s room at the university, where a so-called kill kit was discovered which included duct tape and other restraints.
Bourque was admitted to the psychiatric unit at Burnaby General Hospital before being convicted of killing animals and jailed, he said.
“Quite clearly she is a disturbed young lady and is obviously in need of help.”
Gordon said the 46 conditions Bourque must abide by constitute a huge probation order unlike any he has ever seen.
The Vancouver Police Department and a probation officer will be monitoring Bourque and she is required to attend a forensic outpatient clinic where she will get counselling for three years, he said.
The harm Bourque has inflicted on animals may be a precursor for what she may do to humans, Gordon said.
“It’s what it predicts that is of concern.”
Bourque was adopted as a child from an orphanage in Romania and lived in Prince George before moving to Burnaby to attend university.
Gordon said the young woman came to the notice of the criminal justice system and the health and education system in Prince George going back years and he wonders why more wasn’t done for her then.
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