Drunk driver who killed 4 denied full parole as day parole continues with conditions

TORONTO — A drunk driver who killed three Toronto-area children and their grandfather has been denied full parole.

Instead, the Parole Board of Canada ruled Marco Muzzo should stay on day parole with conditions for six months.

Those conditions include staying away from alcohol and not entering Brampton, Ont.

Muzzo, 34, is serving a 10-year sentence.

He was convicted of impaired driving causing death and impaired driving causing bodily harm for the crash five years ago.

The board says in its decision it still wants to settle some issues before considering him for full parole.

Evidence at trial was that Muzzo had three times the legal alcohol limit when he blew through an intersection in Vaughan, Ont., in September 2015 and slammed into a minivan at about 85 kilometres an hour.

Four members of one family – Gary Neville, 65, and his grandchildren Daniel Neville-Lake, 9, Harrison, 5, and Milly, 2 – were killed. Neville’s wife and another older woman were hurt.

Besides the jail term, Muzzo, who had a history of speeding and other driving offences, was also barred from driving for 12 years.

The board decided in April to grant day parole based in part on his “positive institutional conduct” and successful completion of several escorted temporary absences for community service.

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“File information indicates you have made ongoing progress while in the community and have been fully compliant with your conditions of release,” the board said.

Correctional authorities recommended full parole but the board disagreed in its Nov. 3 decision.

“The board has questions related to your offending and community behaviour that it would like to explore with you in a hearing setting,” it said. “Therefore, the board continues day parole for six months, and orders that a hearing be convened to consider your full parole.”

The board has previously called elements of his plan for self-management “relatively simplistic.”

It also ordered him to stay away from any pubs or bars.

“Any return to alcohol use would greatly enhance your risk of re-offending,” the board said.