Day parole extended for killer of realtor in Duncan in 1980

Kelly James Toop is serving a life sentence for the murder of Suzanna Seto, a 29-year-old Vancouver real estate appraiser, and the rape and attempted murder of another young woman in Williams Lake

This story has details about ­sexual assaults and murder.

A man serving a life sentence for the murder of a woman in Duncan and the attempted murder of another in Williams Lake has had his day parole extended.

Kelly James Toop, now 64, was found guilty of the 1980 first-degree murder of Suzanna Seto, a 29-year-old Vancouver real estate appraiser, and of the attempted murder and rape of a Williams Lake woman in 1982.

He was sentenced in 1983 to life in prison without parole eligibility for 25 years.

Toop broke into Seto’s Duncan hotel room through an unlocked window on June 2, 1980, and sexually assaulted her for several hours. He then took her to a nearby wooded area and hit her on the head with a concrete block, killing her.

Seto’s body was found the next day, but Toop was not connected to the crime until years later.

Toop, who grew up in Williams Lake, moved to Duncan in 1980 after being transferred there through his job at Woolworth’s, a now-closed retail chain. He was working as a pizza delivery person when he killed Seto, the Times Colonist reported in 1983 during Toop’s trial for Seto’s murder.

At trial, Toop claimed he entered Seto’s hotel room to steal her purse, but Seto fell and hit her head while struggling to hold on to the purse. After she passed out, he “got a strange idea in my head and had sexual intercourse with her,” he testified.

In November 1982, Toop forced his way into a young woman’s car in Williams Lake and drove her to a highway pulloff, where he attacked her, forced her to undress and sexually assaulted her. He drove the woman to his parents’ home, stopping along the way to rape her repeatedly. At the house, he taped her eyes closed and bound her wrists. Toop forced her to perform vaginal, anal and oral sex.

At one point, he told the woman: “I hate life,” she testified at Toop’s 1984 trial for attempted murder, rape and gross indecency.

Toop later drove the woman to a gravel pit and hit her over the head with a tire iron and left her for dead.

She was found the next day, alive but seriously injured.

Toop has admitted he intended to kill her and thought he had done so, according to a recent Parole Board of Canada decision.

During the investigation into the sexual assault and attempted murder of the Williams Lake woman, Toop admitted to killing Seto, the March 6 parole board decision says.

Toop was investigated for sexual assaults involving minors and was interviewed by police up until 1992 for murders he was suspected of committing, but no charges were laid in any of those cases, according to the parole board.

Toop has been in custody since his arrest in 1982, and has been in a minimum-security institution since 2021. The parole board decision does not identify the location of the institution, but Toop is under conditions not to be in B.C.

Several psychological and specialized assessments over the years have led to a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder and sexual disorder, the parole board decision says.

Toop’s most recent psychological risk assessment in 2022 confirmed the presence of sexual sadism disorder that is in remission in a controlled environment. His risk of sexual recidivism was assessed as average and he poses at least a moderate risk to commit a violence offence, the parole-board documents say.

The decision says Toop was verbally and physically abused as a child by teachers and family members. He was not allowed to express his feelings in his family environment, suffering beatings and humiliation if he did. He learned to repress his emotions as a result.

He was sexually assaulted at 10 years old and when he told his parents, he was told to never speak of it again, the decision says.

The parole board said Toop’s history is no excuse for his actions, but provides some context.

“The Board can see the connection between your harsh upbringing, sexual assault, and the lack of emotional support, with your distorted notions of sexuality, objectification of women, and use of violence,” the decision says.

Toop completed more than 1,000 escorted temporary absences during his sentence, as well as a 60-day and a 90-day work-release program without incident.

He was authorized for unescorted temporary absences four times so he could live at a community residential facility.

Toop was granted day parole in June 2024, after more than 40 years in prison, but it was suspended just a few months later in October, after “troubling situations” occurred when Toop started an adult school program and was in a social setting with women, the parole board decision says.

Management at Toop’s school reported he made inappropriate sexual comments to a peer. He was also seen following a woman near his residential facility and he took a picture of her without her knowledge.

An examination of Toop’s phone showed he had accessed approximately 20 pornographic websites, including some that were still open in his browser, which was a breach of his conditions.

Toop denied the incidents and denied intentionally accessing pornographic websites.

In December, Toop’s day parole was reinstated, with modified conditions to prevent him from erasing specific features from his phone. The parole board said it was satisfied Toop had credible explanations for the incidents, although the explanations are not provided in the decision.

In its most recent decision to continue Toop’s day parole, the parole board says Toop’s first period of day parole revealed he has yet to “fully recognize risky situations,” despite a long history of successful temporary and work releases.

“The board considers that you are at a very early stage in your path to progress and may still be somewhat fragile as you gradually return to the community, particularly in an environment where women are present,” it says.

Toop’s “reflection on the risky situations” he faced before his day parole was suspended is in its early stages and he is expected to begin “introspective work” regarding the suspension, the decision says, calling him “a work in progress.”

The parole board says it believes Toop’s risk can be managed through the structure and supervision of the facility where he is living. The name of the facility is redacted in the decision.

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