by Maria Bradshaw

THE LACK of a parole system in Barbados could affect the early release of Barbadian Julia Yves Elliott who is serving a seven-year sentence in Canada for unlawfully killing her former lover.

The SUNDAY SUN understands that Elliott, who was convicted after pleading guilty to manslaughter in 2005, is due for parole as early as July/August.

But Canadian authorities may be in a quandary because while they want to release her, they were hoping she could be returned to Barbados and undergo the necessary monitoring here.

The SUNDAY SUN understands that the authorities first made enquiries with the Barbados Consulate in Canada, which referred the matter to the police in Barbados.

Ministry investigating

The situation is now being investigated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

When contacted, Permanent Secretary Teresa Marshall confirmed that the ministry was in receipt of correspondence from Canada asking what systems Barbados had in place for parole.

"In the parole report, freedom is monitored. They wanted to know if she could come under a certain supervisory system of parole in Barbados. It is a question of finding out the appropriate supervision.

"The problem is we do not have a system of parole here," Marshall said, adding that the matter was being investigated between Barbadian and Canadian authorities.

The Sunday Sun understands that one of the suggestions from Canada was placing an electronic monitoring device on Elliott.

Last October former Attorney-General Dale Marshall said the ministry was in the process of testing a pilot conditional release and parole project which would have led to the release of 30 inmates.

That has not materialised.

Elliott, 47, was first accused in 1995 of killing 64-year-old Lawrence Foster and dismembering his body. The body parts were found floating in a river after a massive search.

She was on remand in Canada for about four years and then subsequently freed by a judge during a sensational murder trial.

The judge had found that the prosecution and police had committed more than 150 constitutional violations against her.

Elliott, a masseuse, returned to Barbados in 2000 but while she was here, Canadian authorities were trying to get her back to Canada for a second trial after the Appeals Court overturned the judges' decision to release her.

In 2005 Elliott was arrested in Costa Roca on an Interpol warrant and extradited to Canada for the second murder trial.

This time around she entered into a plea bargain with the prosecution and pleaded guilty to manslaughter. She was sentenced to seven years in prison.

At that time Elliott, who was incarcerated at the Grand Valley Institute for Women in Ontario, told the DAILY NATION that accepting the plea bargain placed her "between a rock and a hard place", but that she wanted to be part of the lives of her daughter and grandson who live in Barbados.

mariabradshaw@nationnews.com