Family and friends of Ashlee Hyatt, a 16-year-old who was murdered outside a Peachland, B.C. house party, are outraged they could run into the accused killer at any time.
The Hyatt family is still mourning the tragic loss of Ashlee, who died last June after allegedly being stabbed in the neck by another teenage girl. When the girl accused was released on bail, initially Ashlee's parents begrudgingly accepted the terms that ordered her to remain in her home 24-hours a day.
"As long as she's held and not able to move around the community," said Greg Hyatt, Ashlee's father.
But now a judge has granted her permission to be free in the community as long as she's under the supervision of an approved adult. Ashlee's mother, Charrie Griswold-Hyatt, is outraged.
"This has just been devastating," said.
Griswold-Hyatt now fears running into the girl suspected of killing her daughter in the small community of Kelowna.
"My comfort was that we didn't have to see her out in society. That was my comfort. My comfort was I could take my 11-year-old daughter -- who lost her sister also -- I could take her out places and never have to worry about running into her. You know, and now I have more anxiety," Griswold-Hyatt said.
Ashley Burke, who was a friend of Ashlee's, is equally as upset.
"Oh yeah, honestly I would say if I saw her outside just walking around the community I would actually walk up and probably say something. A lot of Ashlee's friends would too," Burke said.
Neil Mackenzie, spokesperson for the Criminal Justice Branch, describes the process involved in changing bail conditions.
"We take into account the recommendation -- if there is one -- from the person's bail supervisor and ultimately we have to decide whether the public is still protected with the bail conditions changed," he said.
Unfortunately for the friends and family of Ashlee, this is a horrible introduction into the legal workings of a case that could take years to come to an end.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Kent Molgat
