When life is life: 85-year-old double killer sentenced to life in prison for cold-blooded Chilliwack River Valley double murders

Robert Freeman may die in prison, yet family of John Kavaloff and Valerie Smith feel justice wasn’t done

May 22, 2026

A life sentence in prison in Canada means that after 25 years at the most, offenders are eligible to apply for parole. 

The key word is "eligible" and the Parole Board of Canada is no pushover. What many people don't understand is that even if someone convicted of murder is granted parole after 25 years or less, their life sentence continues in the community. They are still subject to strict rules that could send them back behind physical bars if they violate. 

Life really is life. 

In the case of Robert Amede Freeman who pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of John Kavaloff and manslaughter of his partner Valerie Smith, even with the lowest available parole eligibility, life really will be life.

At 85 years old sentenced to life with no chance of parole for 10 years, Freeman will be 95 living in a federal prison when he is even eligible to apply to the Parole Board to consider some sort of temporary absences or day parole. 

He likely won't make it, but that's cold comfort for the family of the murdered couple killed in cold blood in the Baker View Trails Mobile Home Park on Sept. 14, 2023, by their next door neighbour.

Kavaloff was 58 years old when Freeman walked out of unit 100 at the trailer park and shot him in his driveway of unit 101. Freeman then turned the gun on Smith and killed her. She was 69.

"He was there for under three minutes," Crown counsel said in reading an agreed statement of facts.

The alleged beef was over the couple’s dog, a tiny Yorkie named Suzie.

"My parents were completely innocent, loving people – cherished grandparents – whose lives were tragically cut short by a mentally unstable [neighbour], all because of a grudge over their beloved Yorkie.”

That was a social media post from Travis Finnigan on the one-year anniversary of the murders of his parents in 2024.

They were straightforward and cold-blooded homicides. Police officers arrived minutes later to secure the scene, Freeman was arrested and brought to the Chilliwack detachment where he gave a full statement. He was then released on bail eight days later.

Out on bail, Freeman then delayed and delayed much to the exasperation of the family and friends of Kavaloff and Smith. Freeman's first lawyer Simon Buck's delays reached the point where Buck had to be relieved because he was too busy on other cases. 

Early on the court heard that Freeman would not contest the details of what happened, but that he was going to plead not criminally responsible by mental defect. That never happened.

The case was going to a jury trial but leading up to jury selection in March 2026, after many months of unnecessary delays caused by Freeman himself, he apparently fell into a coma. By April 1, no joke, he woke up.

He then re-elected to be tried by judge alone, scheduled to start on May 4, 2026. Then at the last minute, he pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Kavaloff and the lesser-included offence of manslaughter for killing Smith.

Freeman had one last minute brief bit of torture to toss to the family by attempting to revoke his guilty plea, a move that was quickly rescinded.

Justice Andrea Ormiston sentenced Freeman to the mandatory life in prison for the second-degree murder of John Kavaloff with no chance of parole for the minimum of 10 years and for the manslaughter of Valerie Smith with no chance of parole for eight years.

“To our family, this does not feel like justice for taking the lives of two innocent people,” Smith and Kavaloff’s daughter-in-law Joy Watson-Finnigan said after the sentencing.

“When someone murders two innocent people, there must be serious consequences and accountability for those actions, with no early parole despite age, health, or any other excuse.

“What makes this even harder to accept is that Freeman originally admitted responsibility immediately after the murders and was in custody for only 5 days before being released on bail. After obtaining legal counsel, he pleaded not guilty and remained free in the community for over 2.5 years while our family suffered through repeated court appearances, anxiety, fear, grief, and emotional devastation.”

She said it was devastating to hear at the sentencing that issues related to parole, age, health, and medical considerations are matters for the parole board system moving forward.

“Although sentencing is now over, the grief and trauma do not simply disappear,” Joy wrote. “Now comes the long process of trying to recover from years of emotional survival, repeated retraumatization, and a justice system that too often forgets the families left behind.

“At some point, Canadians need to start standing together and demanding change for victims and families impacted by violent crime. The system cannot continue failing grieving families like this over and over again.”

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Paul J. Henderson
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