Individual accused in Abbotsford laundromat stabbing incident had a history of priorly stabbing a paraplegic individual
Headline: Repeat Offender Timothy Richard Louis Rowley Charged After Brutal Attack on Paraplegic Man
In a shocking incident that occurred on Aug. 9 in Abbotsford, B.C., 40-year-old Timothy Richard Louis Rowley has been charged with assault with a weapon and aggravated assault. The victim, a 57-year-old paraplegic man, was watching TV in his home when Rowley entered, set fire to his property, and repeatedly stabbed him with a knife.
The paraplegic victim suffered six stab wounds, two rib fractures, and a pneumothorax, and spent five days in hospital for treatment. According to witness Chelsea McFarlane, she interrupted Rowley in the victim's unit, and saw him running around the apartment and grabbing a knife from the kitchen.
Rowley's violent past is a matter of public record. He has more than 20 convictions dating back to 2004 for offences including assault causing bodily harm, assaulting a peace officer, vehicle theft, weapons charges, causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, and fraud. At the time of the Abbotsford stabbing, Rowley was wanted by police for being unlawfully at large from his parole jurisdiction.
Rowley's criminal history also includes a series of breaches of his parole conditions. He has been paroled twice, both unsuccessfully. He breached his parole conditions multiple times, including testing positive for methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cannabis. In 2022, his day parole was suspended within a month after he walked away from a residential treatment program.
Rowley was out of prison on statutory release, a provision in Canadian law that requires that most offenders be released to complete the final third of their sentence under supervision in the community. However, repeat violent offenders like Rowley can be denied statutory release if the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) determines they pose such risks.
Statutory release is designed to allow most federal offenders conditional release after two-thirds of their sentence, but includes safeguards to keep high-risk repeat violent offenders incarcerated longer if justified by risk assessments. In Rowley's case, it appears that these safeguards did not prevent his release, leading to the tragic incident in Abbotsford.
In May 2019, while he was intoxicated, Rowley attempted to use a shoelace to strangle a man who was being interviewed by the police. He has also been caught with a cell phone he used to coordinate bringing drugs into prison. In 2023, his parole was reinstated, and he was directed to live in a community correctional center.
The PBC's decision to grant Rowley statutory release and allow him to re-enter society despite his extensive criminal history and repeated breaches of parole conditions has come under scrutiny. The victim of the Abbotsford attack defended himself during the attack, feared for his life, and was subsequently hospitalized for his injuries.
This case highlights the need for careful consideration and risk assessments when granting statutory release to repeat violent offenders, to ensure the safety of the public and the offenders themselves.
Footnote:
[1] "Statutory Release," Parole Board of Canada, accessed Oct. 1, 2023, https://www.pbc-clcc.gc.ca/en/services/release-lib%C3%A8re/statutory-release.
[2] "Statutory Release," Correctional Service of Canada, accessed Oct. 1, 2023, https://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/statutory-lib%C3%A8re/index-eng.shtml.
[3] "Parole Board of Canada: Statutory Release," Justice Laws Website, accessed Oct. 1, 2023, https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/P-20.5/page-1.html#h-12.
[4] "Parole and Statutory Release," Correctional Service of Canada, accessed Oct. 1, 2023, https://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/parole-parole/index-eng.shtml.
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