The B.C. Court of Appeal has ordered a new trial for a man acquitted of a double homicide near Cranbrook in 2010.
In 2018, Colin Correia and Sheldon Hunter were charged with first-degree murder for the double homicide of 42-year-old Jeffrey Taylor and 43-year-old Leanne MacFarlane but were both acquitted in 2022.
On May 29, 2010, MacFarlane and Taylor were killed at a rural residence they were renting from in what police believe was a horrible case of mistaken identity.
They believe the intended target was rival gang member Doug Mahon who was the previous resident of the property.
The Crown only pursued an appeal against Correia and not Hunter.
Correia was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder against Mahon in 2013 and was on parole in 2018 when he was arrested for the double homicide.
After his arrest, prosecutors said he gave a “highly inculpatory” account of the events of May 29, 2010 to police.
The judge in the previous trial found that there was a reasonable doubt that the statements of the accused were not voluntary because the statements “were induced by a combination of police trickery and a diminished ability to think clearly.”
The “police trickery” involved police inviting Correia to talk about the conspiracy offence instead of the murders since he had already been charged and convicted of the conspiracy offence and couldn’t be prosecuted again.
The original trial judge ruled that Correia’s statements while in custody would be excluded from the trial.
The Appeal Court is in disagreement.
“There simply was no evidence that objectively supports the view that the police tricked Mr. Correia by somehow confusing him on his protection regarding the conspiracy to murder Doug Mahon with the serious jeopardy he faced on the two charges of murder he was facing,” stated Justice Saunders.
The Appeal Court believes the labelling of the interview evidence as “police trickery” and having it excluded from the trial was an error of law.
“I conclude that a fair and objective consideration of the transcript reveals no evidence of police conduct that could reasonably be seen as police trickery,” said Justice Saunders.
“The judge’s reference to such underhandedness, or characterization of it as improper police conduct, demonstrates an error in law that, by itself, fatally undermines the verdict.”
The panel of three judges unanimously ordered a new trial. The date has yet to be set.
The full judgement can be found below.
MORE: R. v. Correia Oct. 24, 2024 (B.C. Court of Appeal)
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