Pubdate: Wed, 13 Apr 2016
Source: Medicine Hat News (CN AB)
Copyright: 2016 Alberta Newspaper Group, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.medicinehatnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1833
Author: Alex McCuaig
Page: 5

INQUIRY SET REGARDING 2011 JAILHOUSE DEATH

A two-day fatality inquiry has been set into the jailhouse death of a 
former city resident convicted of the April 1992 murder of Darlene Korolak.

Derek Brian Upton was 15 years old at the time of the murder but was 
tried and convicted as an adult for first degree murder.

He was sentenced to life in prison and, under the provisions of the 
Young Offender Act in force at the time, was eligible for parole 
after 15 years incarceration.

On Christmas Eve 2011, Upton and fellow inmate Nicholas Whynott were 
found dead in their cells at Drumheller Institute from a suspected 
drug overdose.

Upton had become a methamphetamine addict while incarcerated, 
according to Parole Board of Canada documents obtained by the News.

"If people are reading this and thinking 'Upton got what he 
deserved,' or about hate, anger and revenge, I would invite them to 
make a different choice," Korolak's daughter Rhondalynn told the News 
in January 2012.

"A choice that invites the possibility of love. I don't think any 
amount of hate, revenge and anger can bring (my mother) back and it 
certainly isn't going to attract more good."

The fatality inquiry is set to begin on Jan. 30, 2017.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom