The family of a Vulcan senior who was murdered earlier this year is outraged that they are not eligible for a victims of crime fund that would help pay for the man's funeral expenses.
Otto Bunty Loose, 77, was reported missing by members of his family on Tuesday, January 10, 2012.
Police say Loose was kidnapped from his Vulcan area home on January 8, 2012 and investigators believe he was taken to Nanton and Claresholm where several suspicious financial transactions were attempted by his abductors.
They believe Loose was then murdered and his body was moved using his vehicle to a wooded area where he was eventually found.
Tim Douglas Engel, 35, and Bobbi Joe Parks, 28, both of Claresholm, are charged in connection with the homicide of Loose.
Loose's daughter Lavonda Justinik was relieved to learn she could apply to have his funeral costs covered by a provincial fund for victims of crime.
She was shocked to learn that her application was rejected because two years before his death, Otto Loose got in a minor altercation with a neighbour.
He was sentenced to six months probation for unlawful harassment and the incident was the only conviction on his record.
"They just said no, he was a criminal and you're denied. So that makes no sense to me," said Justinik
The standard rule for the Criminal Injuries Review Board (CIRB) is to deny claims for people who have been convicted of a crime within 60 months of their death.
Justinik points out that Loose was suffering dementia which she says contributed to the conviction.
Her area MLA Ian Donovan says these files should be reviewed on a case by case basis.
"No two same situations are the same all the time so I guess more open and transparent process would be better for everyone, I think," said Donovan.
Lavonda Justinik is appealing the decision.
