WARNING: Some of the details in this story may be disturbing to some readers.
A Calgary man who killed his wife and hid her body for months has been denied day parole.
Joshua Burgess is serving a life sentence after being convicted of the second-degree murder of his estranged wife, Shannon Madill, formerly Burgess.
Madill, 25, went missing in November 2014.
Madill disappeared hours after attending an audition for a role in a television series.
Days later, Shannon’s parents, siblings and Burgess stood side-by-side in front of the media at Calgary Police Service headquarters to make a plea for help in finding her.
At that time, police said there was no indication of foul play but it was out of character for Madill not to let family and friends know where she was.
Seven months passed with no sign of Madill, who was planning to move out and had a job offer in Edmonton when she vanished.
In July 2015, when Calgary police homicide detectives went to Burgess’ home to execute a search warrant, he blurted out a confession that he had killed his wife.
Burgess later provided a step-by-step account of the murder to detectives in an interview at police headquarters.
During the trial, court heard their marriage was ending and both were already dating other people.
Madill was watching television early in the morning on Nov. 27, 2014 when Burgess came home. The two became intimate on the couch when they started to argue.
Court heard Madill told Burgess she regretted marrying him – and then the argument took a violent turn.
Burgess put his hand on her mouth and she bit his hand. That’s when he got on top of her and strangled her first with his hands then with the belt from his pants.
Burgess admitted to hiding Madill’s body, first, in a storage container on his back porch, and then in the spring he buried her in their yard.
In July 2015, police showed up at the residence with a search warrant. Burgess refused to answer the door. Officers then contacted him by phone, and that’s when he admitted he killed Madill.
Madill’s body was later recovered from the Spiller Road S.E. home she shared with Burgess.
In December 2017, Burgess was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for at least ten years.
At the hearing, Madill’s family expressed concern over any possible release into the community.
“Nothing will convince me that putting him back on the street will be safe for anyone,” her brother Tyler Madill told members of the Parole Board of Canada.
While in custody, Burgess has earned a welding ticket and hopes to employment in Edmonton in that field if released into a halfway house.
Tuesday, the board said day parole is premature in his case, and denied his request.