Man convicted of killing common-law wife in 2009 granted full parole

File photo of James Gary Urbaniak being escorted into court by police in handcuffs on Thursday, May 7th, 2009.

A man who killed his common-law wife in their Morinville home in 2009 has been granted full parole.

James Gary Urbaniak pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

During his trial, the court heard he beat, stabbed and strangled his long-time partner, Jessica Martel, after learning she planned to leave him.

The couple's three kids were in the home at the time.

When considering full parole, the Parole Board of Canada said it did not lose sight of the serious nature of Urbaniak's offence.

"When faced with domestic conflict you assaulted and then killed the woman you were supposed to love while your own children were present," the board wrote in its decision.

The board cited "serious concerns" with Urbaniak hiding an intimate relationship while on day parole in 2020.

"This is somewhat mitigated by the CSC's (Correctional Service of Canada) reports that since your subsequent release on day parole you have been open and transparent with your CMT (case management team) and have been engaged in counselling with your partner to address any issues or concerns," the board continued in its written decision.

Urbaniak is also said to have taken part in a significant amount of programming and intervention during his sentence, which the board said it felt would provide him with skills to address his emotions.

Support in the community and having a full-time job were also factors in the board's decision.

"It is positive that you have full time employment which you plan to continue, as financial stress has been determined to be a trigger for negative behaviours in the past," the board wrote.

Urbaniak must report all relationships with women, attend counselling, not buy, consume or possess drugs, and provide financial documents for monitoring.

He is also not allowed to have contact with the victim's family without written approval from his parole supervisor.