Latest news with #InnocenceCanada
CTV News
03-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Man exonerated after Manitoba court quashes murder convictions
The Manitoba Law Courts building in Winnipeg on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods WINNIPEG — An Indigenous man in Manitoba who spent more than two decades in prison has had his three murder convictions quashed and the charges stayed. Former justice minister David Lametti referred the case of Robert Sanderson to the Manitoba Court of Appeal in 2023 for a new hearing, saying there was a likely a miscarriage of justice. Innocence Canada, the group that applied for the ministerial review of the convictions based on new evidence, said the Appeal Court ordered a new trial Friday and the Crown stayed proceedings Monday in Court of King's Bench. James Lockyer, a founding director of Innocence Canada, said it has been a "long haul" for Sanderson and the organization. "We've known about his case for certainly more than a decade," Lockyer said in an interview. "Just took us awhile to get to it, but we did, and finally the case is over. So, big relief for him and for us." Sanderson and two others were charged in the 1996 killings of three men in Winnipeg. The bodies of Jason Gross, Thomas Krowetz and Stefan Zurstegge were found in a home on Aug. 6, 1996, by the father of one of the victims. Gross had blunt trauma injuries to the head and body and multiple stab wounds. Krowetz was shot three times and had at least three dozen stab wounds. Zurstegge was shot twice and stabbed 34 times. Sanderson was convicted the following year on three counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years. The Manitoba Court of Appeal Court dismissed his appeal in 1999, and he was later denied leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. Innocence Canada said it applied to Lametti in 2017 for a review based on new evidence. An expert Crown witness had said hair found on one victim belonged to Sanderson based on microscopic analysis. But DNA testing later established that the hair came from someone else. Innocence Canada also said a witness to events before the killings who linked Sanderson to them was given more than $15,000 by authorities as part of an agreement after he testified at trial. It said this was not disclosed to Sanderson and the prosecution could not explain why. Sanderson was released on parole in 2021. Lockyer said Sanderson is now a free man and is not subject to anything to do with the killings anymore. "Of course, he served a lot of time on them and then was on parole for another four years, but that's in the past," Lockyer said. Sanderson now lives in British Columbia and is an artist. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2025. The Canadian Press
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Manitoba court quashes murder convictions for Métis man who spent decades in prison
A Métis man who spent more than two decades in prison had his murder convictions quashed by the Manitoba Court of Appeal last week. In 1997, Robert Sanderson was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the August 1996 killings of Jason Gross, Russel Krowetz and Stefan Zurstag at a home in West Kildonan. Sanderson was sentenced to life in prison with no eligibility for parole for 25 years. He has always maintained his innocence. He appealed his convictions in 1999, but the appeal was dismissed by the Manitoba Court of Appeal. Later that year, Sanderson was denied leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. In 2017, 20 years after he was convicted, Innocence Canada applied for a ministerial review of Sanderson's case, the organization said in a Monday news release. Flawed DNA testing conducted on a hair found at the scene had connected Sanderson to the crime at the time of his conviction. More advanced tests done in the mid-2000s showed that the hair samples didn't match Sanderson or the two other men who were charged in the case. Other new evidence considered by the appeal court was that an eyewitness was given "substantial sums of money by the authorities pursuant to an agreement after he testified at the trial," Innocence Canada said. Sanderson was denied bail in 2018, but was released on full parole a short time later. After his release, Sanderson told CBC News in 2023 that he had found healing through embracing his culture and creating art inspired by his Métis and Ojibway heritage. He moved to Victoria, B.C. In 2023, then-federal justice minister David Lametti found there was likely a miscarriage of justice in Sanderson's case. Lametti referred the case to the Manitoba Court of Appeal for a new hearing. Last week, the court quashed the convictions and ordered a new trial. Innocence Canada said in its news release that the Crown has advised the court "it will exercise its discretion and enter a stay of proceedings on public interest grounds." CBC News has reached out to the Crown and Innocence Canada for further comment.
CBC
03-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Manitoba court quashes murder convictions for Métis man who spent decades in prison
Social Sharing A Métis man who spent more than two decades in prison had his murder convictions quashed by the Manitoba Court of Appeal last week. In 1997, Robert Sanderson was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the August 1996 killings of Jason Gross, Russel Krowetz and Stefan Zurstag at a home in West Kildonan. Sanderson was sentenced to life in prison with no eligibility for parole for 25 years. He has always maintained his innocence. He appealed his convictions in 1999, but the appeal was dismissed by the Manitoba Court of Appeal. Later that year, Sanderson was denied leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. In 2017, 20 years after he was convicted, Innocence Canada applied for a ministerial review of Sanderson's case, the organization said in a Monday news release. Flawed DNA testing conducted on a hair found at the scene had connected Sanderson to the crime at the time of his conviction. More advanced tests done in the mid-2000s showed that the hair samples didn't match Sanderson or the two other men who were charged in the case. Other new evidence considered by the appeal court was that an eyewitness was given "substantial sums of money by the authorities pursuant to an agreement after he testified at the trial," Innocence Canada said. Sanderson was denied bail in 2018, but was released on full parole a short time later. After his release, Sanderson told CBC News in 2023 that he had found healing through embracing his culture and creating art inspired by his Métis and Ojibway heritage. He moved to Victoria, B.C. In 2023, then-federal justice minister David Lametti found there was likely a miscarriage of justice in Sanderson's case. Lametti referred the case to the Manitoba Court of Appeal for a new hearing. Last week, the court quashed the convictions and ordered a new trial. Innocence Canada said in its news release that the Crown has advised the court "it will exercise its discretion and enter a stay of proceedings on public interest grounds."
Toronto Sun
02-06-2025
- Toronto Sun
Man exonerated after Manitoba court quashes murder convictions
Published Jun 02, 2025 • 1 minute read The Manitoba Court of Appeal in Winnipeg is shown on Monday, Aug. 27, 2012. Photo by BRIAN DONOGH / Postmedia Network files WINNIPEG — A Manitoba man who spent more than two decades in prison has had his three murder convictions quashed and the charges stayed. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Former justice minister David Lametti referred the case of Robert Sanderson to the Manitoba Court of Appeal in 2023 for a new hearing, saying there was a likely a miscarriage of justice. Innocence Canada, the group that applied for the ministerial review of the convictions based on new evidence, says the court ordered a new trial Friday and the Crown stayed proceedings today. James Lockyer, a founding director of Innocence Canada, says Sanderson is now a free man who has 'nothing to do with the murders anymore.' Sanderson and two others were charged in the 1996 deaths of three men in Winnipeg. Sanderson was convicted the following year and sentenced to life in prison, before being released on parole in 2021. Toronto Maple Leafs Olympics Toronto Maple Leafs Celebrity Toronto Raptors
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Review of Sobotiak murder conviction revealed undisclosed police evidence, court filing says
The murder conviction stemming from the 1987 disappearance of an Edmonton woman has been thrown out, in part because there was undisclosed evidence from the police investigation. Roy Sobotiak's lawyers filed written arguments in support of his bail application on Friday, which shed light on issues they raised with the investigation and trial that ended in 1991, convicting Sobotiak of second-degree murder in the death of Susan Kaminsky. Namely, they outline issues around undisclosed evidence, an undercover "Mr. Big" police operation in the late 1980s and additional forensic evidence linked to the case — some of which was discovered after Sobotiak's conviction. "In 1991, the case against Mr. Sobotiak was seemingly very strong. He was with Ms. Kaminsky the night before her disappearance and it was believed that she never left his mother's house alive because of his confessions to [the undercover officer] and his further confession on arrest," the brief says. "Today, the factual landscape has fundamentally changed. There is a reasonable likelihood that the murder charge will be stayed on account of non-disclosure and/or due to the manner in which the Mr. Big operation was conducted." Kaminsky, a 34-year-old mother, vanished in February 1987 and her body was never found. Sobotiak, who was in his early 20s at the time, was the last known person to see her alive. He had told police that Kaminsky drove him home from his mother's house, where the two had spent time together after running into each other at a bar after midnight. The federal justice minister ordered a new trial for Sobotiak this year, nearly 36 years after Sobotiak was arrested and imprisoned. Court of King's Bench Justice Eric Macklin granted Sobotiak's release Friday. He is under a curfew and other court-ordered conditions. James Lockyer, a founding director of Innocence Canada and one of Sobotiak's lawyers, called him "the longest-serving wrongly convicted man in Canadian history." He noted the only other comparable case is Romeo Phillion, who spent nearly 32 years in prison before his murder conviction was quashed in 2003. A new trial was also ordered in that case, but Crown prosecutors in Ontario withdrew the murder charge against him in 2010. Sobotiak, now 61, applied for the justice minister to review his conviction, Lockyer told the court. A subsequent investigation by federal officials unearthed undisclosed evidence from police files, including evidence of other possible suspects in Kaminsky's disappearance, according to a written memorandum from Sobotiak's legal team. "Its impact on the outcome of the applicant's trial and the fairness of his trial had to be assessed," the brief says. The document, filed in the Court of King's Bench earlier this month, says the lawyers can't disclose specifics from the investigative report due to a confidentiality agreement. Sobotiak's lawyers argued the Mr. Big operation that was used to elicit Sobotiak's original confession was abusive, and can't stand up to legal scrutiny. In a Mr. Big sting, undercover police officers draw a suspect into a fictitious criminal organization. A Supreme Court of Canada ruling in 2014 set new standards for how this evidence can be used, with stricter rules about the legal admissibility of confessions made during these kinds of investigations. In this case, the written arguments say, the operation came with implicit threats of violence and induced Sobotiak to confess by portraying membership in the fake criminal group as a path to emotional and financial security. "The officers preyed on his vulnerabilities: his poverty, his mental health problems and his addictions," the brief says. "It is surprising that Mr. Sobotiak held out as long as he did." Sobotiak consistently denied any involvement in Kaminsky's disappearance over nearly 11 months of the Mr. Big sting — which started after police investigated Sobotiak through surveillance, wiretaps and a police informant who lived with him for several months. Details of the investigation were revealed in court during the original trial. Starting in October 1988, an undercover Edmonton Police Service detective befriended Sobotiak and took him along to staged drug deals and fake scouting trips to search for places to hide a dead body. The detective also bought Sobotiak food and alcohol, and paid him for being a "lookout" during drug transactions. By September 1989, police decided to try getting Sobotiak drunk "to see if it would cause him to 'say something.'" The undercover officer then pushed for details about Kaminsky's death in a hotel room, while Sobotiak drank an entire 26-ounce bottle of vodka. WATCH | Edmonton man gets bail with murder conviction overturned after 36 years in prison: In the videotaped meeting, Sobotiak becomes visibly intoxicated. The officer continued to press him with statements including, "'Our circle' knew he had killed Kaminsky and he needed to be honest if he wanted to be in their organization." Sobotiak then "adopted" the officer's suggestion that Kaminsky died by accident, the lawyers' brief says. He said she fell and broke her neck while he was trying to carry her down the stairs at his mother's house. The undercover detective prompted Sobotiak for details of Kaminsky's death in three more meetings over the following week. Sobotiak told a variety of stories, first repeating the death was an accident but adding that he'd transported her body from his mother's home in a duffel bag, dismembered it in his apartment, and disposed of it in two dumpsters. Then, he said he'd strangled her after a sexual encounter. The fourth and final time, after the officer told Sobotiak about "the importance of his confession as a means of entry into their criminal organization," he repeated the story, claiming he "just went berserk." Sobotiak was arrested the next day. The man he had been spending time with was officially revealed to him as a police officer. There's limited evidence about what was disclosed during Sobotiak's original trial, since the Crown and former defence lawyer's files have been destroyed, according to the brief filed in court. But the brief alleges "substantial" non-disclosure of evidence, saying the "most striking" examples are statements Sobotiak's mother and sister gave to police that suggested Kaminsky was alive when she left the home, before she disappeared. Another witness told police she saw a woman who resembled Kaminsky walking with a man, who wasn't Sobotiak, later on the day she disappeared — after the time police contended Sobotiak killed her. A young neighbour also told police about possible sightings of Kaminsky and her car on that day, later than the time Sobotiak told the undercover police officer he killed her. "Their statements would have undermined the veracity of Mr. Sobotiak's Mr. Big confessions and his further confession on arrest," the brief says. During the original trial, the defence received a police investigation report that mentioned "several ex-boyfriends" of Kaminsky had allegedly been violent to her, including one who an RCMP officer suggested should be considered a suspect in her disappearance. "No further information was provided about these partners of Ms. Kaminsky and what steps were taken to investigate them," the brief says. It adds that DNA analysis done in 2023 also doesn't support claims Sobotiak made during his confession in the Mr. Big sting, about putting Kaminsky's body in a duffel bag he owned and dismembering her in his apartment. The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service has yet to make a decision about whether they will put Sobotiak on trial a second time, nearly four decades after Kaminsky disappeared. The province has applied for a judicial review of the decision to order a new trial. There's no date yet when it might be heard in Federal Court, and Sobotiak's lawyers say it could take years to resolve.
