Brian Doyle, currently behind bars in British Columbia, wept as he apologized for the “pain and suffering” he caused by killing a St. John’s woman in 1991, then allowing her son to go to prison for his crime. “I just want everybody to know … to see that I’m not the man I was then and that I just want to be a better person,” he said on a conference call Tuesday, openly sobbing as he spoke. Doyle, convicted of second-degree murder in the killing of Katherine Carroll, was sentenced to 18 years without parole in 2002. Carroll’s son, Greg Parsons, was convicted of the crime and spent four years in prison for it before being acquitted in 1998. During his first community assault last year, Doyle broke his terms by failing to disclose his relationship with his police officer. His day parole was revoked in April 2021 after a year out of prison.
“A loner in a crowd”
On Tuesday, he told the parole board that at the time of the killing he was relying heavily on drugs and alcohol to ease conflicting feelings about his homosexuality and past sexual abuse. “I was lonely in a crowd. I had a lot of friends and family… but a lot of times in my mind I was isolated… I was struggling with my sexuality and trying to deal with it, and I was seeing a lot of mixed feelings from society,” she said. “I was using a lot of drugs and alcohol and my judgment was really clouded, what I was saying and doing.” He also said the victim’s sexual rejection when he broke into her home to propose after a party sparked a murderous rampage that led to Carroll’s death. After he killed her, he said, he was paralyzed with fear. “There was blood on me, there was blood everywhere,” Doyle said, his voice loud and strained. “I was so scared. I panicked, I had no idea what I was doing.” The board questioned his account, asking why a police report from an undercover investigation said Doyle had boasted about his ability to get away with murder and seemed proud of his crime. Doyle said he only stopped because the undercover officers were pretending to be part of a criminal organization. The board also pressed Doyle for his privacy during his latest release, noting that he appeared to have re-entered the same cycle of crime that landed him in prison in the first place by thumbing his nose at his parole conditions and lying. His parole officer said Doyle was now well placed to carry out his rehabilitation in the community and had taken a step forward by revealing his internal struggles with his sexuality and had worked on these issues while behind bars. Intermediate operator Doyle will be released to say that Doyle was respectful of the staff during his last stay and exceeded expectations in terms of housekeeping. She said Doyle required structure to live in the community, however, and noted the offender had agreed to install spyware on his phone, refrain from using social media or dating sites and allow GPS tracking. Doyle is considered a low to moderate risk for recurrence.
“The truth finally comes out”
Parsons, who for years advocated keeping Doyle locked up and on Tuesday called him a “psychopath” and a “predator” who felt no remorse for his crimes, told CBC News after the hearing that he was pleased Doyle finally admitted that he had a sexual motive for killing his mother. “I’m glad the truth is finally coming out,” Parsons said. “He says he was having an affair with my mom. So, if you had an affair, why did you go into the basement, come out to the kitchen to get a knife, and stand over her bed?” Parsons argued in his victim impact statement that the sexual nature of Doyle’s crime was not addressed by the justice system. Greg Parsons called Tuesday’s hearing a victory for his mother’s memory. (Ariana Kelland/CBC) He heard Doyle tell the board Tuesday, for the first time, that he had actually visited Carol’s home to try to have sex with her and get drugs. Despite Doyle’s repeated apologies, Parsons said he cannot forgive his former friend. “He will always play the victim, so I don’t accept that [his] apology. It wasn’t an apology,” Parsons said. “He’s been backed into a corner and he’ll do and say whatever it takes to get out.” Doyle will return to prison when he completes a rehabilitation program and can reapply for parole based on his success in the program, a parole board spokesman said. Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
