Olson’s imminent demise ‘bittersweet’ news: victim’s mother
Posted September 22, 2011 6:08 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A woman whose teenaged son was murdered by serial killer Clifford Olson says his imminent death from cancer will bring her family some peace.
Sharon Rosenfeldt told News 95.7 on Wednesday that Corrections Canada officials have informed her that Olson, now 71, is suffering from terminal cancer and may only have days to live.
He has been transported to a hospital in Laval, Quebec to receive treatment.
Rosenfeldt says she’s conflicted about the news that the man who killed her 16-year-old son, Darren, and then taunted the family from prison will finally be silenced.
“With the ultimate death of Clifford Olson, it definitely isn’t going to bring Darren back, but this man is never going to be able to hurt us ever again,” she said.
Rosenfeldt says she wasn’t raised to cheer over anyone else’s misfortune, but says Olson tormented her family – sending them letters on the anniversary of Darren’s death to describe his torture and killing.
“As human beings, most of us are pretty well conditioned to not go ‘yippee,’ at the demise of another person,” she said. “But on the other hand, this man did take my child’s life in a most demeaning and undignified manner.”
The commissioner for Corrections Canada contacted Rosenfeldt, 65, to alert her of the news. However, a spokeswoman for Corrections Canada declined to comment on Olson’s health, saying it was a private information.
Olson was handed 11 concurrent life terms in 1982 after pleading guilty and after 25 years he was eligible for parole, though that has never been granted.
