A man who was convicted of murdering a 20-year-old UVic student while she was jogging is set to be released on day parole for a six month term before the parole board reassess the situation.
Scott Ian Mackay, now 62-years-old, was first convicted of first degree murder following a lengthy investigation into the death of Marguerite Telesford.
The sentence was appealed and reduced to a second degree murder conviction that would not allow for the possibility of parole for a minimum of 15 years.
Since that time, Mackay has applied for parole on several occasions, being denied every time, until earlier this month on March 5th, when he was officially granted six months of parole.
What happened to Marguerite Telesford
In January, 1987, Telesford went on an early morning jog but failed to return home.
Police reportedly found evidence of foul play along the jogging route which included blood and pieces of clothing which were also bloodied.
Eventually, police found a piece of Telesford’s clothing lodged in the front end of Mackay’s truck, linking him to the murder.
Mackay never told police where Telesford’s body is located and still denies he is responsible for killing her.
Despite this, Mackay reportedly made statements to fellow inmates implicating himself in Telesford’s death.
At his March 5th hearing, Mackay told the parole board of his “culpability” for the murder because it was the “least” he could do to provide some closure for the victim’s family.
Mackay said he has no memory of killing Telesford, but admitted he was capable of that level of violence at that time in his life.
The parole board wrote in their decision report that they are, “highly concerned that there is a lack of information regarding the motivating factors, self-control issues, and thinking,” that was present for Mackay at the time of the murder.
The parole board has a victim statement from Telesford’s mother on file that describes her as a talented pianist who was pursuing a career as a teacher.
In her statement, she describes in detail how the unsuccessful search for her daughter felt after Telesford was reported missing.
The mother of the victim believes Mackay should be denied parole until he expresses remorse for his actions and discloses the location of Telesford’s body.
Mackay’s criminal history
His criminal history dates back to 1984, and includes convictions for impaired driving, assault, sexual assault and unlawful confinement.
At the time of the murder, Mackay was actually on probation for incidents that occurred in 1986 and 1987.
The first being when he picked up a sex worker, drove around dangerously, refusing to let her leave his vehicle.
Eventually, the victim was able to escape by jumping out of the moving vehicle, at which point he charged toward her in his vehicle and she had to leap out of the way.
Mackay was also on bail at the time of Telesford’s murder because he assaulted a sex worker along with two others.
Lastly, he was considered a “person of interest” in the unsolved homicide of a woman from 1987. This investigation remains ongoing.
Mackay spoke at the hearing of his feelings of resentment, jealousy, and arrogance toward women that led to this crime and his previous violence towards women.
He also noted that at the time, he felt like he lived three different lives, one as a successful businessman, another as a devoted fiancé and one in which he engaged in predatory sexual behaviour with vulnerable women.
In his assessment process, the parole board found that sometimes he did qualify as a sexual sadist while other times he did not.
Mackay eventually admitted to the board he had a deviant sexual arousal pattern related to the use of violence and that this was a significant risk factor for him.
Reasoning for Mackay’s release
When first incarcerated, Mackay was found to be “considerably difficult” to deal with.
His case management team designated him as having a “medium” accountability and reintegration score but they found his motivation score to be “high.”
According to the parole board, his connection to Indigenous heritage—although he does not identify as Indigenous—allowed Mackay to make “significant gains.”
The parole board also says that Mackay has reportedly cut off contact with his previous partner and is prepared to remain celebate. He says he no longer has “deviant sexual fantasies.”
Throughout his time in prison, Mackay participated in programs and showed some progress in many of them; however, in 2009, he had to be transferred to medium security because he was harassing female prison staff.
In addition to this behaviour, in 2016, he was found to be in the possession of pornographic materials which he says can often be a trigger for his deviant sexual behaviours.
The parole board says that Mackay has only been showing a level of “manageability” since 2018.
Mackay indicated to the parole board a city in BC he would like to be placed in for his day parole, although they will not share where this location is for his protection.
Upon release, he will be living in a community residential facility, where he will be held to several conditions that come along with his day parole release.
The conditions imposed on Mackay are as follows:
- Not allowed to consume alcohol
- Not allowed to consume drugs, except with a prescription
- Has to follow treatment plan
- Has to report all relationships, both sexual and non-sexual
- Adhere to curfew of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- No contact with victims’ family members
- Not allowed to purchase or look at pornography
- Not allowed to hire a sex worker
The board said they are concerned because Mackay has no recollection of the murder he is responsible for and prior to his arrest, his violence towards women and sex workers was steadily accelerating.
They also said in their interview with Mackay, the parole board believed he was just giving them answers he thought they would want to hear.
Despite these factors along with other instances of Mackay not showing promising signs of reintegration, the parole board says he does not “present an undue risk to society if released on day parole.”
After six months, a panel hearing will take place to assess the progress of Mackay’s day parole.
