Parole board documents obtained by CTV News have revealed that Edward Delten Downey had an extensive criminal history but did not pose a threat to society when he was released from jail in 2010.
Downey is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Sara Baillie and her five-year-old daughter, Taliyah Marsman, last week.
The Calgary mother was found dead in her home last Monday and her daughter’s body was located a few days later in a rural area east of the city.
Downey was picked up and arrested by police at a strip mall in the city’s northeast and charged with murder on Friday.
Documents from the Parole Board of Canada indicate that the 46-year-old's criminal history began in 1990 and that he lived a "criminally entrenched lifestyle."
He had been serving four years for drug trafficking and possession of a firearm and was denied parole twice in 2008 after it was felt that he was a high risk to reoffend.
During his incarceration he was also moved from minimum security back to medium security after he was involved in an illegal tobacco operation.
The board said there was evidence that he relied on prostitution and drug trafficking to support himself and that he even turned out his 19-year-old girlfriend and did not allow her to call police until she paid him.
Board members called Downey ‘shady’ and he was considered to be a moderate threat to domestic partners but not to the general public.
The board also said that Downey "gained credibility and stability" during his partial release and that he didn't appear to be returning to criminal activity. He was granted full parole in 2010.
Downey is expected to appear in a Calgary courtroom on the murder charges on Wednesday.
Parole Documents for Edward Delton Downey
