Fredericton woman who murdered Clark Greene not eligible for parole for 13 years

A woman convicted of murdering a man at a Fredericton park three years ago has been sentenced to a parole ineligibility period of 13 years.

Angela April Walsh, 24, has been in custody for the murder of Clark Ernest Greene since May 2020, so she's already 10 years away from being able to apply for parole.

Court of King's Bench Justice Kathryn Gregory delivered her sentence against Walsh at the Burton courthouse on Friday for the April 2020 killing of Greene, whose stabbed and beaten body was found near the gazebo at Fredericton's Wilmot Park.

"It was an absolutely savage unleashing of violence on Mr. Greene, without any explanation," said Gregory, in delivering her sentence.

Walsh was originally charged with first-degree murder alongside Zachary Murphy, her boyfriend at the time.

He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder in 2021 and was later sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 11 years.

Walsh went on trial last December, however it abruptly ended on the second day after Crown and defence counsel agreed to let Walsh also plead to the lesser second-degree murder charge.

Both charges carry a minimum sentence of life in prison, but second-degree murder allows parole eligibility between 10 and 25 years, while first-degree murder prohibits parole for at least 25 years.

Motive remains unknown

Throughout her reasons for sentencing, Gregory repeatedly emphasized the absence of any apparent motive behind the killing.

"There is simply nothing to explain the brutality inflicted on Clark Greene," Gregory said.

"The information heard by this court from family and friends ... indicates only that Clark Greene was a genuine, happy-go-lucky, pleasant, industrious young man who delighted most people he met — other than those who bullied him for his Asperger's autism syndrome."

Gregory previously heard several victim impact statements, including from Greene's mother, Cynthia Greene, and his brother, Ross Greene.

Drawing on statements both Walsh and Murphy gave to police after their arrest, Gregory said Walsh told Murphy the two would rob Greene on the evening of April 14, 2020.

Walsh knew Greene ahead of the killing and arranged to meet him at the gazebo, with the plan that Murphy would sneak up from behind and knock him unconscious with a metal pipe.

This was senseless, unprovoked brutality.- Court of King's Bench Justice Kathryn Gregory

Gregory said once Murphy did so, Greene lay unconscious on the ground.

Walsh then walked over, pulled a knife from Greene's pocket and stabbed him repeatedly in the face, neck and chest, with the gravest wounds being to a pulmonary artery and to a lung.

No defensive wounds were found on Greene's body, Gregory said.

"He was there on an invitation by Angela Walsh and could not possibly have contemplated her as a potential threat to him.

"This was senseless unprovoked brutality, which makes Angela Walsh a dangerous person despite her attempts at rehabilitation to date."

Walsh lived a 'difficult life,' says judge

Before discussing the factors she weighed in deciding Walsh's parole eligibility, Gregory gave a summary of Walsh's "difficult life," which included childhood abuse, mental illness and drug use.

Gregory said Walsh was born in Ottawa, but she and her siblings were removed from the care of their biological parents when she was four years old, following an unspecified incident between her biological father and her sister.

She then bounced between foster care and group homes, during which time she was subjected to abuse.

She was adopted at 13 and was described by her adoptive mother as happy, but compulsive.

Following the divorce of her adoptive parents, Walsh turned to drugs to numb her pain and started using alcohol and cannabis, then later she began using crystal meth and heroin.

Walsh has also been diagnosed with multiple personality disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, Gregory said.

Gregory said given Walsh's "primary role" in Greene's killing, she deserved more than the 12-year parole ineligibility recommended by defence lawyer T.J. Burke.

"Walsh's primary role in this brutality calls for more than a slightly higher sentence than Mr. Murphy — as does the brutality inflicted, questionable remorse and the lack of explanation for the crime."

At the same time, Gregory said Walsh deserved less than the 15 years recommended by Crown prosecutors given she is young and "has at least some prospects" of rehabilitation while in jail.