An Edmonton woman shot to death outside her home late last month and the man accused in her murder were family.
Priscilla McGreer, an instructor at NorQuest College and Edmonton’s Learning Centre Literacy Association, was found dead in an SUV in central Edmonton on Aug. 30, after reports of gunshots.
She was found fatally wounded on a busy downtown street in the early hours of that Saturday morning. An autopsy confirmed that she died of gunshot wounds.
Kyle Laumen, 42, who has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault and breach of probation, has an extensive history with the courts including a 2018 homicide charge that was ultimately stayed.
CBC News has learned that McGreer, 39, and the accused were cousins. In a statement, Edmonton police confirm the two were related.
Two Alberta-based criminologists say the homicide in the area of Jasper Avenue and 119th Street, was a very public act of violence, which demonstrates a weakness in Canadian courts in reducing the risks posed by repeat offenders.
Parole documents from 2014 and 2015 show that Laumen has more than 25 convictions for “crimes of violence” and that his risk to the community was a concern among correctional officials.
Friends say McGreer’s death is made all the more tragic by the fact that the accused was her relative.
Laumen remains in custody and is expected to appear in the Edmonton Court of Justice Tuesday.
Brandi LaPerle said McGreer had been attempting to help her cousin for years despite his “troubled” history.
McGreer knew about Laumen’s criminal record but was steadfast in her offer of support, even when others had pulled away, LaPerle said.
“He was going through a difficult time. She wanted him to have a good person, a friend,” LaPerle said.
“That’s a part of who she is. She doesn’t judge people from any walk of life.”
LaPerle said she feels robbed of her closest friend.
The two met in their 20s, working at the same non-profit. When LaPerle felt ostracized at work, McGreer offered kindness.
She said McGreer, a prolific writer and musician, always cared for outsiders or those looked down upon by society.
“She’s the kind of person that, if she sees somebody sitting alone or an outcast in an environment, she would come and sit down and strike up a conversation.”
The two became fast friends and eventually moved into apartments, one above the other, and spent many nights bonding over their shared passion for the arts, LaPerle said.
“She’s such a compassionate person,” LaPerle said. “And she always knew what to say to make me feel better and less alone.
“She was a sister in many ways.”
LaPerle said McGreer’s death is a reminder of the risk of violence that women face and that services for survivors of domestic and family violence must be maintained.
Another friend, Mike Demeter, said he was disgusted to learn of Laumen’s criminal record and the allegations surrounding McGreer’s final moments.
Demeter met McGreer a few months and the pair quickly became friends. He recalled many evenings spent at her apartment as she graded papers, worked on her short stories and played songs on the piano.
McGreer was a passionate and deeply spiritual person who accepted everyone, no matter their history, he said.
“She saw things in another light. She saw things in people that most people wouldn’t,” he said.
“She was a kind soul… If you had a place in her life she trusted you.”
CBC News has sought comment from McGreer’s immediate family.
Mount Royal University criminologist Kelly Sundberg reviewed the criminal history of Laumen. He describes McGreer’s death as an egregious failing of the justice system.
He points to Laumen’s alleged breach of probation and his criminal record which dates back at least 16 years with a mixture of convictions, stayed and withdrawn charges.
“We have a watered down criminal justice system that is focused more on making excuses for why people committed the bad things they did and how to reintegrate them quickly into society,” he said. “And in the same breath, we ignore the victims.”
Laumen’s previous convictions include aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose in 2012.
In 2018, he was charged in a homicide case that ultimately fell apart. A warrant for his arrest was issued in the stabbing death of Marlon Jair Nunez after the 39-year-old was found in a basement suite in south Edmonton.
Laumen was charged with second-degree murder, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and interfering with human remains but those charges were stayed in February 2020 due to what the Alberta Crown Prosecution described as “insurmountable evidentiary issues.”
Laumen also served time for assault causing bodily harm and flight from police in 2023.
Sundberg argues that cases are too often stayed due to evidentiary issues.
He said there needs to be more accountability and transparency from the courts and the Crown when charges are stayed and the system must ensure repeat offenders face the “maximum weight of the law.”
The thresholds for community release for repeat offenders must also be tightened, he said.
“We have to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, to convict,” he said. “Once someone is convicted, that same burden should continue.
“Do I believe in locking up and throwing away the key? No, but I do believe in locking someone up until we know beyond a reasonable doubt that they will not offend again.”
Documents obtained by CBC News from the Parole Board of Canada offer insight into Laumen’s criminal record.
The documents centre on a series of decisions made by federal parole officials following Laumen’s conviction for aggravated assault and possession of a dangerous weapon following an attack on August 5, 2012.
According to the documents, the assault happened while Laumen was at the home of a casual acquaintance, a 65 year-old man.
When Laumen was asked to leave the home, he “lost control” and attacked the man with a knife.
“You were asked to leave in a manner you felt was disrespectful and your victim returned to watching TV,” the parole document reads
“You became instantly enraged and suddenly stabbed him in the back with a knife five times. Your victim suffered two fractured vertebrae.”
Laumen was initially denied parole in late 2014 as the board determined that he still posed an “undue risk” to the community.
The denial was based on his extensive criminal history and the board’s concern that his emotional and substance abuse issues remain unaddressed.
“You minimize and rationalize your crimes, especially in the area of violence… You felt you had to either defend yourself or use violence to make your point,” the decision reads.
“Stabbing the victim five times is a very distressing example of an inability to control yourself.”
In March 2015, Laumen was granted statutory release from his federal sentence, but special conditions were imposed to manage his ongoing risk to the community.
He was required to abstain from drugs and alcohol, attend psychological counselling, and maintain employment or education.
Four months after he gained his freedom, Laumen’s release from federal custody was revoked. He was placed back in custody after admitting to assaulting his own father at home, knocking him unconscious.
The parole board said Laumen’s behaviour was troubling, as he had immediately returned to a cycle of crime.
University of Alberta criminologist Temitope Oriola, who also reviewed the criminal record, said the accused’s history, including his previous stayed homicide charge, and the public nature of the killing will be considered aggravating factors by the courts.
He said Laumen’s record demonstrates a pattern of violent offences and his record “paints a picture” of his risk for recidivism.
Oriole said there are ways to better monitor the risks posed by repeat offenders upon release including ankle monitors and tougher restrictions on where parolees can live and work.
“At some point, those individuals will come out,” he said “All we can do, and must do, is to mitigate those gaps.”
Oriola notes that the crime fits into the broader pattern of femicide in Canada.
According to Statistics Canada, of the 1,125 gender-related homicides of women and girls reported across the country between 2011 and 2021, 66 per cent were perpetrated by an intimate partner, 28 per cent by a family member.
“Women are at a greater risk in the hands of those in their lives than some random stranger,” Oriola said.
