ARNPRIOR – Pembroke dentist Christy Natsis has been granted parole after serving a little more than one of her five-year sentence.

Natsis was charged and found guilty of impaired driving and dangerous driving causing death after a head-on collision on Highway 17 back in 2011 that killed 50-year-old Bryan Casey who was a married father of two. The former dentist from Pembroke was drunk at the time of the crash with a blood alcohol concentration 2.5 times over the legal limit. 

Natsis has been granted full parole and is now free to return home after the “exemplary” time she spent at an Ottawa half way house where she’s been living since June. Natsis served 13 months of a five-year sentence before being granted day parole this summer. 

The Parole Board of Canada says Natsis will not presently a risk to society if released. Casey’s family members submitted letters to the board opposing full day parole and also asking that Natsis stay away from Ottawa due to the trauma she has caused them. 

Natsis acknowledged she is an alcoholic and has been banned from the purchase, possession and consumption of alcohol. She is also not allowed in bars, banned from driving for four years, possessing weapons for 10-years and not allowed to contact Casey’s family. Since Natsis is an American citizen she could have faced deportation as a result of her conviction, but that’s not said to be an option at this time. 

She plans to return to her family home and resume her dental practice. Natsis still has a disciplinary hearing before the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario scheduled early next year.

• Courtesy Oldies 107.7 FM