A relative of a British Columbia family murdered during a camping trip more than four decades ago says she is relieved their killer has once again been denied parole, but frustrated her family will eventually have to relive the process.
David Ennis shot and killed George and Edith Bentley; their daughter Jackie Johnson; son-in-law Bob Johnson; and grandchildren Janet, 13, and Karen, 11, all from Kelowna, B.C., while they camped at Wells Gray Park near Clearwater in 1982.
A decision from the Parole Board of Canada said Ennis poses a risk of violent or sexual reoffending that would be unmanageable if he were released.
Kristal Woolf, the great-niece of Bob Johnson, said the family is grateful the board rejected his application for a fourth time. In an interview with The Canadian Press she said, “We are extremely happy that the parole board has gone in our favour,” adding that the family wishes it did not have to repeatedly fight against his release.
The board’s decision says Ennis watched the family at their campsite before fatally shooting the four adults and keeping the two girls alive for days. He sexually assaulted the older girl before killing both children and setting fire to the vehicle where he left all six bodies, which were later discovered by a berry picker.
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The board said an aggravating factor in its latest decision was Ennis’s choice to “callously and viciously” kill six people in order to gain access to a female child victim and satisfy what it described as his sexually deviant fantasies.
Woolf said the recurring parole process takes an emotional toll because the family never feels the matter is permanently settled. She said relatives typically begin preparing again about a year before a hearing by speaking to media, reaching out to podcasters and circulating an online petition opposing Ennis’s release.
“It’s like you don’t get closure,” she said. “This is a great win right now, but it’s not a win forever.” Woolf said the possibility of either full or day parole is frightening to the family because Ennis could once again be living among the public while the relatives he killed never had that opportunity.
The board noted Ennis has completed correctional programming and made some gains. Although Woolf does not believe he can be rehabilitated, “I do not believe that he could change who his core person is,” she said.
Woolf said the family continues to remember the six victims by sharing stories about their lives and keeping their names in the public eye. The Johnson Bentley Memorial Aquatic Centre in West Kelowna also bears the family’s name and displays photographs of them.
Ennis, who changed his name from David Shearing, is serving a life sentence and was previously denied day and full parole in 2008, 2012 and 2021.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
