Mountie killer set for prison release

A woman convicted of manslaughter in the 2001 killing of Manitoba RCMP Const. Dennis Strongquill is set to be released from prison at the end of this month.

Laurie Bell, 28, was sentenced in 2003 to 10 years in prison for her role in the killing.

She was given three years' credit for the 18 months she spent in custody awaiting trial and in June 2008 was granted statutory release for serving two-thirds of her time.

However, the statutory release, which allowed her to leave her prison cell and live at an Alberta residential treatment facility, was revoked in April 2009. She was sent back to prison after she failed to report a relationship to parole officials.

One of the conditions of her freedom was to report to parole officers if she was involved in any intimate relationship.

Parole board documents obtained by CBC News at that time revealed allegations that Bell was romantically linked to a corrections guard.

Her manslaughter sentence expires in July 2010, but the parole board has approved her release to a halfway house in Western Canada.

Bell, who must abide by strict conditions, is still considered a moderate risk to reoffend violently and a high-risk to reoffend generally, the board has determined.

She will be released into the community on Jan. 30. It was not revealed where Bell intends to reside.

10-day crime spree across the Prairies

Bell had been on a 10-day crime spree across the Prairie provinces with two men, Danny and Robert Sand, when Strongquill and his partner, Cpl. Brian Auger, tried to pull them over for a routine traffic violation in western Manitoba.

After the officers stopped their stolen truck, Robert Sand opened fire with a sawed-off shotgun. The three then pursued the two police officers into town, ramming their vehicle just outside the RCMP detachment in Russell.

Auger was thrown from the vehicle, but Strongquill, 52, was trapped inside as Robert Sand pumped several shotgun blasts into it, the court was told at the pair's trial in 2003.

Witnesses said Bell encouraged the shooting by shouting, "Kill him! Kill him."

Robert Sand was convicted of first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence with no possibility of parole for 25 years.

Danny Sand died in a police shooting during a standoff at a rural Saskatchewan motel.