17 Facts About Clifford Olson

In 1976, Olson was serving a sentence for his crimes as a con artist.

Clifford Olson had obtained favourable terms for himself by acting as an informant against a cellmate, even coaxing him into a written confession.

Clifford Olson's body was found more than a month later on Christmas Day; she had been strangled with a belt and stabbed repeatedly.

Clifford Olson, who had an extensive criminal history, was arrested on August 12,1981, on suspicion of attempting to abduct two girls.

Clifford Olson reached a controversial deal with authorities, agreeing to confess to the 11 murders and show the RCMP the location of the bodies of those not yet recovered.

Clifford Olson's wife received C$100,000 after Olson cooperated with the RCMP, the 11th body being a "freebie".

In January 1982, Clifford Olson pleaded guilty to 11 counts of murder and was given as many concurrent life sentences to be served in Canada's super-maximum security Special Handling Unit in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec, which houses many of the country's most dangerous criminals.

In 1997, Clifford Olson was denied parole, for which he applied under Canada's "faint hope clause", which allowed a parole hearing for convicts who had served at least 15 years.

Under Canadian law, Clifford Olson was then entitled to make a case for parole every two years.

Controversy developed in March 2010 when the media disclosed that Clifford Olson was receiving two federal government benefits from Canada while imprisoned, a total of C$1,169.47 monthly.

Clifford Olson was eligible to receive the Canadian Old Age Security pension.

All persons who meet residency requirements as to length of time in Canada are eligible to receive this pension at age 65, and Clifford Olson turned 70 on January 1,2010.

Clifford Olson was eligible to receive the Guaranteed Income Supplement, awarded to pensioners with low income.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper asked government officials to look into the issue; on June 1,2010, the government moved to terminate Clifford Olson's payments, calling the fact that he had been receiving them "outrageous" and "offensive".

In September 2010, Clifford Olson sent one of his Old Age Security cheques to a Sun Media reporter, Peter Worthington, with a note asking him to forward the cheque to Harper's campaign for re-election.

In September 2011, media reports indicated that Clifford Olson had terminal cancer and had been transferred to a hospital in Laval, Quebec.

Clifford Olson died on September 30,2011, at the age of 71.