YORKTON — Nerissa Quewezance, whose 1994 murder conviction is under federal review as a possible miscarriage of justice, has been denied full parole and will remain in custody.
The July 23 decision cites Quewezance’s history of conditional-release failures, ongoing risk factors and her own stated position that she isn’t interested in release. The decision comes as the federal government’s review of her case, along with that of her sister Odelia, continues.
Quewezance, 51, an Indigenous woman from Keeseekoose First Nation, waived her right to a parole hearing and didn’t submit written comments.
Indigenous advocate Kim Beaudin, the former vice-chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, said Nerissa not being interested in release was “sad but not surprising.” He said he believes she is “giving up.”
Parole board cites risk factors
The board acknowledged Quewezance’s Indigenous heritage and “considerable trauma that included serious abuse” while attending residential school in reaching its decision, but found public safety remained the “paramount consideration.”
The board said that her risk “cannot be adequately managed on full parole at this time.”
Risk factors cited included substance abuse (her room tested positive for methamphetamine in 2025), impulsivity and poor coping strategies, emotional dysregulation, and difficulties with authority and supervision.
Documents show Quewezance has a history of non-compliance while on conditional release, including periods of being unlawfully at large (UAL), and new convictions.
Milgaard previously told SaskToday that he understands Quewezance being on the run.
The board also cited her lack of a viable release plan.
Sister also facing legal troubles
Nerissa's sister, Odelia Quewezance, 54, appeared in Yorkton Provincial Court on July 28 facing new charges of impaired driving and breaching court-ordered conditions. She was remanded in custody and is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 26.
Sisters maintain their innocence
The sisters have maintained their innocence since their 1994 convictions for the murder of 70-year-old Anthony Joseph Dolff near Kamsack.
Their cousin, who was 14 at the time, has publicly confessed to the killing and served a four-year youth sentence. During the sisters’ trial in 1994, the cousin testified that Nerissa had tried to talk him out of the murder.
Transcripts show Dolff knew the sisters from St. Phillips residential school, where he worked and where Odelia and Nerissa attended as students.
On Feb. 24, 1993, Dolff picked up 18-year-old Nerissa, 20-year-old Odelia and their 14-year-old cousin on the highway and took them to his rural home. Before arriving, they had consumed stolen Restoril capsules. At his home, they drank and Dolff showed them pornographic movies and repeatedly pressured Odelia for sex.
After Odelia took an envelope containing $700 from his bedroom, Dolff threatened to call police.
While he was driving them home, the cousin said, “Let’s kill him.” Nerissa testified she responded “Shami,” meaning “don’t get worse” in Saulteaux, and tried to jump out of the vehicle. The cousin testified Nerissa tried to push him out and was saying “no.”
Nerissa testified she “blacked out” from the drugs and alcohol and had no memory of what happened until violence broke out. She recalled Dolff swinging at her and her fighting back. Odelia testified she got involved when Dolff “grabbed” her sister.
The sisters hit Dolff with a kettle and an ornament. The cousin stabbed Dolff while the sisters were in another room. Nerissa refused his demand to draw a pentagram on the body. The cousin took Dolff’s VCR and movies before they fled in his vehicle.
Federal review remains ongoing
In June 2022, then-Justice Minister David Lametti announced that he had directed the Criminal Conviction Review Group (CCRG) to review the sisters’ convictions as a possible miscarriage of justice.
This followed an earlier request from James Lockyer, Toronto lawyer and co-founder of Innocence Canada who took on the sisters' case and in 2021 asked the Saskatchewan government to reduce their three-decades old second-degree murder convictions to manslaughter and release them from prison without any restraints.
Two retired federal judges appointed to lead consultations for Canada’s new wrongful conviction commission said the case “strongly suggested” a miscarriage of justice and called for their release.
The Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission Act, known as the David and Joyce Milgaard Law, received royal assent in December 2024. Parts of the new law came into force in March 2025, establishing the legal framework for an independent commission to replace the ministerial review process.
The commission isn’t operational yet. Until it begins operating, the CCRG continues to handle applications under the existing ministerial review process, including the Quewezance sisters’ case.
The sisters’ case has drawn support from Senator Kim Pate and the late David Milgaard, who spent 23 years in prison for a wrongful conviction before being exonerated.
ljoy@sasktoday.ca
