PRINCE ALBERT, AB.—A Saskatchewan judge has acquitted a man and a woman of conspiracy to murder their spouses after ruling a key audio recording is inadmissible as evidence.
The judge entered the verdict Monday on what was supposed to be the start of trial for Curtis Vey and Angela Nicholson.
A jury initially convicted them in 2016 and they were each sentenced to three years in prison.
The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, in ordering a new trial last year, said the judge didn’t make it clear jurors must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the two intended to commit murder.
Court heard that Vey, who is from Wakaw, SK., and Nicholson, who is from nearby Melfort, were having an affair.
They were arrested in 2013 after Vey’s wife made a secret recording that appeared to suggest the pair was plotting to kill her and Nicholson’s husband. The jury heard that Vey’s wife was to die in a house fire and Nicholson’s husband was to be drugged and disappear.
Vey and Nicholson argued there was no intent behind their words.
Vey told police that he knew his wife was recording him and talked about the murder plot to give his wife and family something to talk about. Nicholson told officers she never intended to carry out the plan.
Her lawyer, Ron Piche, told reporters outside the courthouse in Prince Albert, SK. that the public needs to know his client didn’t get off on a technicality. She had no genuine intention of killing anyone, he said.
He argued the secret recording on an iPod violated the pair’s charter rights because they didn’t know they were being taped. Police also had warrants to search for computers but not the iPod, Piche added.
“That omission proved fatal in terms of the Crown’s ability to rely on it,” Piche said.
Crown prosecutor Lori O’Connor said her office will examine the case and determine whether to appeal.
Vey’s wife, Brigitte Vey, said outside the court that she is OK with the acquittal.
“I’m at peace that it’s finally over.”
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