George Harding Lovie, convicted in 1991, to move into halfway house in Sudbury

The Parole Board of Canada has granted a man convicted of a double murder 28 years ago permission to move to a halfway house in Greater Sudbury.

George Harding Lovie, now 61, was found guilty of murdering Donna and Arnold Edwards in March 1991, as well as the attempted murder of their daughter, Michele, with whom he had a brief relationship. Lovie was out on bail on charges of sexually assaulting her and forcible confinement when the murders took place.

After failing to have his full parole approved in 2016, Lovie was granted six unescorted passes by the parole board to travel to Sudbury for temporary stays.

"I'm just fed up with everything, the justice system, the parole board of Canada, it's all in need of a complete overhaul," Don Edwards, son of the slain couple and a former NHL goalie with the Buffalo Sabres, said at the time. "This is a travesty, what has happened to us and having experienced what we have it's easy to tell that it's all about rehabilitation for the offender and not at all about the victims. This has impacted my family in ways that can never be expressed."

Lovie's most recent parole application was heard by the board July 9, with the Edwards family looking on. But under a new format, the parole board has two members, not three, so split decisions can happen. In this case, it was a tie vote, meaning a new hearing had to be held with different parole board members.

That hearing took place Tuesday at the Beaver Creek Institution in Gravenhurst where Lovie served his sentence. The board granted his request, and he will move to a Sudbury halfway house when a bed is available.

On Tuesday evening, Edwards said after making four appearances in front of the parole board in less than four years trying to keep Lovie locked up, his family needed some time to process what happened.

“We’re still a little in shock,” he said in an email, adding he would have more to say later this week.

On the morning of the 1991 murders, Michele Edwards walked out of her home to find Lovie hidden under her porch, where he had waited overnight to attack her. Armed with a knife and a gun, he chased her across the street to where her parents lived.

Lovie shot and killed Donna Edwards, and stabbed Arnold Edwards to death, shouting “how d'you like me now?” as he inflicted the fatal wounds.