Man who killed Winnipeg woman in 2012 to return to minimum security despite reportedly kissing prison manager

The B.C. Supreme Court has ordered a man who murdered a Winnipeg woman in broad daylight be moved back to a minimum-security prison after he challenged his transfer to a higher-security institution for allegedly kissing a staff member.

The ruling posted this week says Treyvonne Willis was transferred from minimum-security William Head Institution on Vancouver Island to medium-security Mountain Institution in Agassiz, B.C., in February.

It says Willis was moved after a guard reported seeing him kissing a female correctional manager in a "locked and darkened room."

Willis, who stabbed 26-year-old Kaila Tran to death as she walked to her car in St. Vital in 2012, "adamantly" denied kissing the manager but acknowledged hugging her.

The decision says the warden didn't properly consider the power imbalance between Willis and the manager, putting the onus on the inmate to "establish boundaries to protect himself" from the woman's "unprofessional manner."

Justice Eric Gottardi says he agreed with Willis that the transfer decision didn't include a "clear finding of fact that kissing had occurred" and that the warden omitted details about why he didn't believe the inmate's version of events.

The ruling says the decisions to transfer Willis were unreasonable, ordering that he be returned to the minimum-security prison.

Willis was convicted and handed a sentence of life without a chance of parole for 25 years in 2015.