The daughter of one of convicted serial killer Elizabeth Wettlaufer’s victims is speaking out, demanding answers about the country’s Restorative Justice Program.
After a year of going back-and-forth with a restorative justice mediator, Susan Horvath says she’s devastated to find out she won’t get the face-to-face meeting she requested with Wettlaufer.
“That visit with her would have [given] me closure. I've been holding on to information in my heart and with what I've gathered, what I've seen, what I've heard in Meadow Park with my father's death and she would have released me, she would have given me closure," Horvath says.
Horvath says she needs the meeting to be able to move on with her life and heal.
It’s been more than four years since her father Arpad Horvath was killed at a London nursing home by Wettlaufer.
She received a call Tuesday night from a mediator telling her Wettlaufer has denied her request to meet.
“He used an excuse, which in my opinion was very unusual. He said it was due to the media that Wettlaufer did not want to see me because she was concerned about her parent,” Horvath says.
Horvath believes victims should have more rights and says she has questions about why she’s unable to meet with Wettlaufer.
“I was told that I would actually be able to see her. I passed all the tests that were to be had and then basically it seems like I hit a nerve with my own personal questions that I was going to ask her,” Horvath explains.
She says she won’t stop trying to meet with Wettlaufer and will seek legal counsel and reach out directly to the psychiatric facility in Montreal where Wettlaufer was transferred.
Correctional Service Canada responded in an email that, "Restorative justice is, by nature, a voluntary process [for] all participants, including the offender. It can be initiated by either a victim or an offender. CSC provides victim-offender mediation services through informed consent, and voluntary participation, sincere motivation, and accountability are some of the factors that are key to an safe, honest and productive dialogue between participants."
Asked about alternatives when communication is declined, CSC responded that mail correspondence is still an option.