Imprisoned BC killer suing government for losing lingerie photos of his wife …
June 4, 2014 by admin
Filed under Latest Lingerie News
A convicted killer and his wife are suing the federal government after the Correctional Service of Canada lost intimate photos he took of his spouse during a private family visit last year.
Kevin William Machell, 55, and his second wife Paula filed the lawsuit June 2 in Chilliwack Supreme Court, seeking damages from the Attorney General of Canada.
Machell is serving a life sentence after he pleaded guilty to killing his first wife and her mother in front of his young children in a Summerland motel in 1997.
In May 2013, Machell purchased a disposable camera at the Mission Institution canteen so he could take pictures during a three-day visit with his new wife, the suit says.
The normal procedure was for Machell to give the camera to prison staff at the end of the visit so the pictures could be developed and later picked up by his wife.
“The contents of the disposable camera included . . . intimate photos taken by the second plaintiff of the first plaintiff wearing only lingerie,” the suit says.
When the CSC failed to contact Paula Machell after three weeks, she asked her husband to investigate. He was told the photographs hadn’t developed properly.
But another prisoner later told Machell that the photos were in possession of a third prisoner, who had been released to a halfway house.
The suit says a prison official Machell confronted with the new information “admitted that, in fact, the photos had been developed and they went missing from CSC’s care.”
Inaccurate rumours circulated among the inmates that the photos were extremely graphic, the suit claims.
“The second plaintiff was subject to many snide comments from correctional officers and other inmates in regards to the alleged graphic nature of these pictures and the moral turpitude of his wife,” it says.
Machell claims the CSC recovered the photos and offered to return them as long as he signed a release.
He refused and filed the lawsuit instead.
Both Machell and his wife claim the incident “caused immeasurable stress, humiliation and anxiety, given that CSC’s initial response was to fabricate a false story to cover up their negligence.”
The suit says the CSC was negligent and breached the constitutional rights of both Machell and his wife.
The couple is seeking general, special and aggravated damages, as well as legal costs. The CSC has not yet filed its response.
Machell pleaded guilty in 2000 to shooting his estranged wife, Tammy Grono, 27, and her mother Cecilia Grono, 64, in front of his four-year-old son and two-year-old daughter.
Before he was sentenced to life without parole for 20 years, Machell tried to withdraw his plea. He later lost his appeal.
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Click here to read the court documents
