Canada - Killer Robert Dezwann, captured after escape from Mission Institution,B.C.

April 15, 2017 8:15AM EDT

MISSION, B.C. - An arrest warrant has been issued for a convicted killer who went missing from the minimum security unit of the Mission Institution in British Columbia.

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Dezwann, of Kelowna, B.C., was serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for 15 years after being convicted of second degree murder in 2003.

He was found guilty of strangling 16-year-old Cherish Oppenheim in Merrit, B.C. in 2001, and leaving her body in a wooded area.
Dezwann is described as white, six-foot-one, 186 pounds, with green eyes and a bald head.

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Robert Raymond Dezwaan was in a minimum security unit in Mission, B.C., but was missing on Apr. 14, 2017. (Correctional Service Canada)

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Robert Raymond Dezwaan was not accounted for in the Mission Institution on the afternoon of Apr. 14, Correctional Service Canada announced late Friday.

A warrant for his arrest has been issued.

In 2003, Dezwaan pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of 16-year-old Cherish Oppenheim in Merritt, two years after choking her to death and leaving her body in the woods.

Dezwaan was sentenced to life in prison, with no opportunity for parole for 15 years. His son, Kruse Wellwood, was one of two people found guilty of first-degree murder of Kimberly Proctor, an 18-year-old from Victoria, in March 2010.

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16-year-old Cherish Oppenheim

The popular teen, who played rugby and basketball, went missing on Oct. 13. Her disappearance sparked a police investigation and a massive search effort. Her partially clothed body was found covered with rocks, logs and leaves in a clearing off of a rough dirt road on Oct. 21.
Forensic examination revealed that Cherish was strangled, likely from behind, with a smooth rope or cord. She also suffered multiple injuries including a skull fracture and brain hemorrhage which was probably caused by being hit with a large rock found near the body.
Calling it a monstrous attack, sexual in nature, on a girl who was alone and intoxicated, Crown Prosecutor Stephen Harrison said Dezwaan strangled Cherish “for no reason and left her remains in the woods.”

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matou said:

I can't see why her death was 2nd degree murder. He planned on killing her. Sigh. He should have been sentenced longer and now look. Women need to be on the alert. He likely wants to ravage someone JMO.

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The night Cherish went missing, Dezwaan was stopped by Merritt RCMP and was issued a 24-hour driving suspension for drinking. He was not held by police despite the fact he had breached a number of his bail conditions including one that he not consume alcohol.
At that time, the police constable noticed a knife and duct tape on the seat of his vehicle. These items were remembered by the constable after Cherish’s disappearance and aroused police suspicion. Dezwaan was put under RCMP surveillance for two days until an arrest warrant was issued Oct. 19.

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matou said:

He's been apprehended. On Twitter, can't link from my phone.

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BREAKING: Robert Dezwaan, the convicted murderer who went missing from a #MissionBC prison last night, has been re-captured.

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