Chad Edward Bucknell was 14 years old and James Ruscitti was 15 when they murdered four people at a home in Buffalo Creek in June 1996.
On March 31, 2011, the National Parole Board voted to give Bucknell full parole.
Now, he will be able to move from the halfway house he lived in and into his own accommodations.
However, Bucknell will have to report to his parole officer for the rest of his life and abide by standard release conditions, and the board has imposed several conditions on his freedom.
- He must follow psychological counselling to assist with emotional and reintegration issues.
- He must abstain from intoxicants.
- He must not associate with anyone he knows or has reason to believe is involved in criminal activity and/or substance misuse.
A Canada-wide warrant can be issued if he doesn’t comply with these conditions or his performance deteriorates and the officer believes Bucknell has become too high of risk to the public.
If he goes missing, Correctional Services must notify the public and do so again when he is returned to custody.
Now 28 years old, Bucknell was serving a life minimum sentence for second degree murder for helping Ruscitti murder his adoptive parents and two boarders in an execution-style killing, leaving an infant child of one of the victims alone, but physically unharmed, in the home until a family member discovered the bodies.
He was sentenced on June 9, 1997 with parole eligibility set at seven years from the date of the arrest.
Bucknell was released on day parole in April 2002, and since then, his parole privileges were revoked or suspended seven times because of breaches of not abstaining from drugs and/or alcohol, as well as breaching his non-association special conditions.
Most recently, Bucknell appeared before the parole board on March 4, it was determined at that time he would continue with day parole.
Special conditions imposed on the day parole were similar to those that restricting his freedom and providing protection for the public now.
Twenty-seven days later the board felt it was safe to grant him full parole and voted accordingly.