McGill law student says she received online death threats after publicly defending convicted murderer Jeffrey Ewert

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McGill law student Amy Haysom says she has received online death threats after she publicly defended Jeffrey Ewert, a convicted murderer who was taken back into custody after his conditional release was suspended.

Haysom said she met Ewert on their first day at McGill Law in September and later developed a friendship with him after learning about his criminal past. She described him as “this quiet, reserved gentleman, long braids, really lovely energy,” and said Ewert told her he was a convicted murderer.

According to Haysom, Ewert later informed his parole officer about their developing friendship as required by his release conditions, and she said the parole officer was involved “with him on a daily basis.” She said she never felt unsafe around him and continued to support him despite receiving death threats online.

Haysom said her stance is rooted in her view that reintegration should be more than something discussed in theory. “We agree to a carceral system that agrees to reintegration,” she said, adding: “I don’t think it’s OK to say, ‘Not in my backyard.'”

Ewert, now in his 60s, was convicted in the 1980s of second-degree murder and attempted murder following violent attacks in British Columbia against two female victims, including a 15-year-old. In 1984, he choked a 19-year-old woman unconscious, sexually assaulted her, and dumped her in the Fraser River, where she was later found dead. Six weeks later, he strangled the 15-year-old girl unconscious in his adoptive parents’ Surrey basement, drove her to a drainage ditch, and left her to die after her head struck the pavement when he dragged her out; she survived but was paralyzed for life with severe brain damage.

The court convictions included first-degree murder and attempted murder, and Ewert spent about 40 years in federal prison. He was granted day parole in 2025 and had been attending law school at McGill since September.

Ewert’s return to custody followed the Correctional Service of Canada suspending his conditional release. The Correctional Service of Canada said a warrant was issued and that such a warrant may be issued when “there are reasonable grounds to believe that the offender has breached a condition of release or that the risk they present can no longer be safely managed in the community.” The correctional service said his case is being reviewed under its post-release decision-making process, which may include further consideration by the Parole Board of Canada.

Haysom said controversy around Ewert has included dividing reactions among McGill students and renewed attention after news of his studies began circulating in early October, when he was barred from campus. She also said Ewert interacted online with females who turned out to be AI-generated, and she described speaking with him about what she considered potentially inappropriate language, including comments such as “you’re hot.”

Several McGill students said they were uncomfortable with him attending. Another student said they felt safer after he was no longer on campus. McGill previously said privacy laws prevented it from discussing individual student cases, and that student safety is paramount; it also said it would review its admissions processes to help ensure a similar situation does not happen again. Criminal lawyer Eric Sutton said the prison system is designed to allow people convicted of crimes to pursue a normal life, but said release conditions must still be followed and consequences apply if evidence shows they were breached.