NORTH BATTLEFORD — The Parole Board has upheld the revocation of day parole for Danita Thomas, one of 10 people convicted in the 2019 gang kidnapping, torture, and murder of 24-year-old Edmonton mother Tiki Laverdiere in North Battleford.
In a March 10 decision, the Appeal Division of the Parole Board dismissed Thomas’s challenge of a September 2025 ruling that returned her to custody after halfway-house staff reported a series of risk-related behaviours, including deception, undisclosed relationships, and late-night meetings with a man she had recently started seeing.
Thomas argued the Board acted unfairly and failed to properly consider her explanations. She also claimed her arrest following the suspension was unlawful and violated her Charter rights because the police officer didn’t have a warrant and didn’t advise her of her right to counsel.
The Appeal Division rejected each argument.
Thomas insisted the Board lacked jurisdiction to revoke her parole because her apprehension violated her Charter of Rights. The Appeal Division found “no merit” in that position, saying that even if police or Correctional Service Canada staff had violated her rights, those issues fall outside the Board’s authority.
Section 107 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) assigns exclusive jurisdiction to revoke parole to the Board, read the decision, adding, “A complaint that another entity has violated your Charter rights does not void the Board’s legal jurisdiction.”
The panel said Thomas didn’t raise any concerns about her arrest during the original hearing, so the board had no information before it at the time to consider.
Thomas claimed the Board failed to explain why it didn’t believe her account of three key incidents. They included clothing found arranged in her bed, a late-night meeting with her new boyfriend, and her failure to disclose the relationship to her case management team.
The Appeal Division found the Board had questioned her extensively. It said that Thomas herself admitted she had placed clothing under her covers to make it appear she was in bed while she met the man outside the halfway house around 1 a.m.
The Board also said there were inconsistencies between her statements to staff and her testimony at the hearing. In its written decision, the Board said Thomas was “very economical with the truths” and that her behaviour showed “poor decision-making,” “a lack of insight,” and “limited progress” on her correctional plan.
The Appeal Division concluded the Board had properly applied the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and relevant policies when determining that Thomas’s risk had become undue.
Her actions, including deception, a breach of her “report relationships” condition, and a 25-minute period where staff couldn’t locate her – were all within her control and directly relevant to risk assessment, the panel found.
Victim’s family urged that Thomas not be released near them
In a September 2024 victim impact statement, the family of Tiki Laverdiere specifically requested that Thomas not be released to the same province – Alberta – where they reside.
Thomas was identified in court as gang leader Soaring Eagle Whitstone’s “right hand.” She was sentenced in June 2022 to 12.5 years for manslaughter and interfering with human remains. At one of the trials for the 10 convicted, North Battleford Prosecutor Chris Browne described the murder as a “real-life horror movie.”
Laverdiere’s remains were discovered in a rural area outside North Battleford in July 2019, months after she was reported missing. The investigation that followed, spanned two provinces (Alberta and Saskatchewan) and involved over 120 witnesses, leading to the conviction of 10 people.
Parole documents acknowledge Thomas’s troubled background, including placement in a group home at age 11 and substance abuse, noting the “intergenerational effects of residential schools” as factors in her criminal path.
