Surrey man guilty of killing wife in 2009
A Surrey man was found guilty Friday of killing his wife in their Guildford-area apartment two-and-a-half years ago.
Thomas Robert Elton, 56, was convicted of second-degree murder in New Westminster Supreme Court for the stabbing death of Brenda Turcan (also known as Brenda Blondell).
Turcan's body was found in the bottom-floor suite of a three-storey building near 104 Avenue and 148 Street in June 2009.
Turcan, 59, was described as quite ill by a neighbour, who said both she and Elton were "frail."
After Turcan's death, it was discovered that both the killer and the victim were on parole after having done time in prison for two apparently unrelated murders.
Elton stabbed another inmate to death when he was in jail in the mid-1970s and was free on parole after serving his minimum mandatory sentence.
Turcan had also served her mandatory minimum sentence after being convicted for the 1987 slaying of a woman in Burnaby.
Both Elton and Turcan were, at one time, activists who campaigned for reform of the prison system. An online video on workingtv.com shows the pair speaking at a 2004 public memorial for people who have died in jail.
Elton had pleaded not guilty in November. His next court appearance to set a date for sentencing is Feb. 16.
His conviction carries an automatic life sentence of 25 years, but a judge will decide how long he'll have to wait before being allowed to apply for parole.
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