This week, the convicted murderer of a 20-year-old UVic student was denied full parole after being granted day parole since last March.
Scott Ian Mackay, now 62-years-old, was first convicted of first degree murder in 1987, following a lengthy investigation into the death of Marguerite Telesford.
Following his conviction, the sentence was appealed and reduced to a life sentence for second degree murder, without 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 March of last year, when he was granted day parole.
He now remains on day parole with numerous conditions, and has been denied full parole.
The death of Marguerite Telesford
In January, 1987, Telesford went on an early morning jog but did not return home.
Police reportedly found evidence of foul play along the jogging route which included blood and pieces of clothing with blood on them.
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 has reportedly made statements to fellow inmates implicating himself in Telesford’s death.
Prior to his murder conviction, Mackay had been charged and convicted of additional charges, which included assault, sexual assault and multiple forbible confinement charges.
Mackay’s parole denial
According to the Parole Board of Canada, Mackay has been deemed to be of “average risk” of reoffending once released.
In addition to psychological assessments that informed their decision to deny his parole, the Parole Board of Canada looked at records of Mackay’s behaviour inside and outside prison.
“Earlier in your sentence your institutional behaviour was problematic. There were incidents related to substance abuse, negative peers, disrespectful behaviours and comments toward female staff and volunteers,” reads the Parole Board’s decision report.
“You were also identified as being involved in the institutional subculture and refusing to provide for urinalysis testing. You were also able to compromise a staff member into developing a sexual relationship.”
Mackay’s behaviour reportedly improved, but on a work release in 2016, he was found to have pornographic materials in his room, which was strictly prohibited under his release conditions.
When Mackay was granted day parole last March, he struggled after police warned the community and labelled him a “high risk offender.”
Early on, the Parole Board discovered Mackay had begun using drugs, which was in breach of his day parole conditions.
Despite his breaching the conditions laid out for him, Mackay’s day parole was not suspended and even extended in September, 2024, as well as February of this year.
According to the Parole Board, Mackay’s full parole denial was in part caused by his own feelings about not being ready to fully integrate into the community.
“File information reveals you believe a full parole release is premature at this time, so you have not put forward a release plan,” reads the report.
Additionally, it was determined that by releasing Mackay on full parole, the victim’s family would be negatively impacted and put under undue emotional stress.
In the end, several contributing factors led to his parole being denied.
“To summarize, your criminal history, performance on community release, your inability to control your disinhibitors, and your institutional behaviour are all aggravating,” reads the decision.
“However, your responsivity to programming is neutral, your progress and behaviour in the community are aggravating, your case specifics are neutral, but your release plans are insufficient to manage your assessed significant risk to re-offend both sexually and violently.”
In Canada, a life sentence means the convicted will be imprisoned for the remainder of their life, with the possibility for parole.
Mackay has now served 38-years in prison. He murdered Telesford when he was just 24-years-old.
