An Okanagan man who brutally beat his elderly mother and left her for dead in 2019 has been denied his application for prison release.
In 2021 Kevin Lee Barrett, now 64, was sentenced to three years and six months in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated assault, in the near-fatal attack.
In a Parole Board of Canada report released earlier this month, Barrett is described as someone who is “likely to commit an offense causing death or serious harm to another person” if he were to be released from prison, ahead of the completion of this sentence.
“The board has determined that despite (his) participation in programming, (his) self-developed release plan, the funds to support (himself) and the land on which to live, these positive elements of (his case) are not sufficient to negate the seriousness of (his) persistent violence, use of weapons, assessed risk of future violence, indifference to the harm (he) caused others and the absence of a supervision plan that could mitigate (his) risk,” the parole board said.
Barrett has been diagnosed with borderline personality and narcissistic personality disorder, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and was often in close contact with his mother.
In April 2019, however, she called RCMP to her mobile home because he had been verbally abusing her in her West Kelowna home and she wanted him to leave.
“A few days later, she caught(him) breaking into her house,” reads the parole board decision.
“(He) hit, slapped, punched and threatened to kill her. (He) drove her to a remote location where (he) assaulted and threatened her further. (He) pulled her out of the vehicle, rolled her partway down an embankment and drove away leaving her without her shoes or phone.”
When she extricated herself from the precarious position she’d been abandoned, after playing dead, strangers brought her to safety.
Barrett’s pattern of violence against strangers, security staff, police, neighbours, and his mother has been well documented over a decade, starting in 2009 when he got his first criminal conviction for assault, the parole board said.
And his actions have taken a toll on those closest to him.
A victim statement from his mother, 79, indicates the on-going suffering and highlights the violence she endured the night of the crime.
Physically, she had to recover from extensive bruising and swelling to her face, as well as scrapes on her arms, legs, feet and stomach.
A lot of her hair had been pulled out and she had a significant bite wound on her hand.
She was in the hospital for more than two weeks recovering and, despite the damage wrought, the parole board said Barrett has shown significant indifference.
“After committing the index offence, (he) drove away, leaving (his) victim without shoes or a phone in a remote area,” the parole board said. “(He) then made purchases with her bankcard at a liquor store and a gas station. (He) did not call on anyone to help her.”
Today, he seems similarly distanced to the actions of that day.
The parole board said he deflects responsibility for the violence he directed on his mother by suggesting “her dementia contributed to her behaviour. It appeared (he) did not fully comprehend how seriously this 80-year-old lady was harmed by (his) violent actions.”
He even referenced a ‘made-up story’ when discussing the case but the board said it was not made clear what he was talking about. On the brighter side, he harbours no ill feelings towards his mother and wishes her well, the parole board said.