Canadian woman jailed for axe murder of boyfriend applies to get out of prison early
Toronto woman Nicola Puddicombe, convicted of first-degree murder in 2009, is seeking early release. She has served more than 15 years of her 25-year life sentence.
On Oct. 27, 2006, her boyfriend Dennis Hoy was beaten to death with the blunt end of an axe while he was asleep in bed, according to a Supreme Court of Canada case summary.
Court documents obtained by National Post reveal that Puddicombe is applying for parole under the “faint hope” clause .
In Canada, anyone convicted of first-degree murder is not eligible for parole until they have served 25 years of their sentence. However, under the faint hope clause, they can apply after serving 15 years. It is referred to as such because it requires an offender to overcome major hurdles. Parole through the clause is applicable only for those convicted before Dec. 2, 2011 .
A decision by Justice Robert F. Goldstein last September found that Puddicombe’s “application has a reasonable likelihood of success.” A hearing date is scheduled for Nov. 17.
A jury will then have to decide unanimously whether Puddicombe is eligible for her parole to be reduced, and if so, by how much. If deemed eligible, she must apply to the National Parole Board, which can grant parole.
Attorneys for the Crown still believe that Puddicombe is “a cold-blooded killer and a liar,” wrote Goldstein in his decision. “She has refused to accept responsibility for the murder of Mr. Hoy. She has not changed a whit,” the attorneys maintain.
Conversely, the defence’s position is that she “has accepted responsibility for her role in the murder” and “has made great strides while in custody.” Per Goldstein’s decision, the defence says Puddicombe is at “a very low risk to re-offend.”
The 2006 murder was borne out of jealousy and greed, according to a theory presented by the Crown.
Puddicombe was working as a manager at Loblaws in 2005, when she was 32 years old. She was in a relationship with Hoy, who was a GO Transit operator, when she met 21-year-old Ashleigh Pechaluk. Pechaluk worked at a different Loblaws location.
Around the same time, Puddicombe and Hoy’s relationship was crumbling and he was seeing other women.
Puddicombe and Pechaluk entered into a romantic relationship. Pechaluk eventually moved into a spare bedroom in Puddicombe’s apartment. The Crown said that Puddicombe manipulated the young and impressionable Pechaluk, telling the 21-year-old that Hoy was abusive. “Ms. Puddicombe, the Crown theorized, dangled the prospect of the two spending their lives together if (Pechaluk) could get rid of Mr. Hoy,” per the decision.
A plan was hatched to kill Hoy with Puddicombe pulling the strings, the Crown said. Although Hoy didn’t live with Puddicombe, he was staying at her apartment in October 2006. Witnesses said in court that the two women had discussed the murder beforehand.
After Hoy was killed, Puddicombe dialled 911. When authorities arrived, she said Hoy had been attacked while she was in the shower. Pechaluk was arrested at the scene. She gave a detailed confession to police and said Puddicombe “had nothing to do with it.” After further investigation, in May 2007, Puddicombe was arrested and charged.
The two women were tried separately.
Pechaluk’s confession was excluded from evidence because she was not informed of her right to counsel . She was later acquitted of first-degree murder. At the trial, she told the jury she couldn’t go through with committing the murder, although she admitted to discussing it. She said she was asleep when Hoy was killed, CTV News reported in 2009.
The Crown, however, maintained that it was Pechaluk who physically carried out the murder, while Puddicombe was “liable as an aider, abettor or counsellor.”
Meanwhile, Puddicombe was sentenced to life. She appealed the decision in 2013, but it was dismissed by the Ontario Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed her application for leave to appeal in 2014.
While Goldstein said that the Crown’s submission has merit — that Puddicombe has “shown no insight at all into her behaviour” — he doesn’t believe it is “that simple.”
He continued: “In my view, however, it would be open to a jury to find that Ms. Puddicombe has obtained enough insight into her role in the murder of Mr. Hoy to show progress. It would also be open to a jury to find that Ms. Puddicombe has taken responsibility for it.”
In an affidavit sworn in 2023 in an application to Goldstein, Puddicombe “expressed remorse” and accepted that it was her fault Hoy was murdered, saying she “created the circumstances that led to his death.”
As of May 2021, Puddicombe has been held in a minimum security institution.
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