Justice Department re-examines Delisle murder conviction after fifth estate story

The federal justice minister is taking a second look at a controversial murder convictionas a result of an investigation byCBC'sthe fifth estateand Radio-Canada'sEnqute.

JacquesDelisle, a former judge, was convicted of murdering his wife, NicoleRainville,in 2012 and is serving a life sentence.Delislemade appeals all the way to the Supreme Court, maintaining his innocence.

• Watch Murder and the Judge
• Delisledidn't murder his wife, forensic experts tell CBC

The Justice Department stepped in after a report bythe fifth estateandEnquteraisedtroubling questions about the conviction.

Three top forensic experts whoappeared onthe fifth estateandEnqutediscussed the gunshot that killedRainville. Theyconcluded thatthe bullet trajectory, entry wound and gunshot residue in the case all indicate suicide,not murder.

Delisle'sToronto-based lawyer JamesLockyerhas filed a memorandum withtheDepartment of Justice, detailing the new evidence.

Now, the department's Criminal Conviction Review Group (CCRG), whichhandles appeals claimingwrongful conviction, has asked two major forensic labs to look atthe evidence and make their own assessment.

TheCCRGsays it's waiting for the results of this review.

"Depending on what the results are, we'll decide whether or not to go forward fromthere,"KerryScullion, director ofCCRG, toldthe fifth estate.

If theCCRGdecides totake the caseto the next stage,Delislewill be able to apply for bail.

"We want the minister to say, 'I am satisfied that this is a decent case, that this hasmerit.' That is all she has to say, and Mr.Delislecan seek bail in Quebec SuperiorCourt,"Lockyersaid.

'He turned 81 last month'

"But these things take time and that is why we want to have the opportunity now to askfor Mr.Delisle'srelease pending the minister's final decision,"Lockyersaid. "He turned81 last month. People who are 81 years old, you never know how much time they havegot left. Hopefully lots, but you never know that."

DuringDelisle'strial in 2012, the Crown claimed the shot that killedRainvillewas firedat an angle of 30 degrees, which would be consistent with someone standing above herholding a gun to the front of her head.

In their reports and onthe fifth estate, the experts concluded that, for various reasons,the gun appears to have been held at a 90-degree angle in relation toRainville'shead,which they say is consistent with suicide.

Dr. PeterMarkesteyn, the former chief medical examiner in Manitoba and a forensicpathologist who has worked on cases involving the wrongfully convicted, says a shotfired at a 30-degree angle would have left burn marks on the victim's skin and hair.

None was found.

Because there were no marks or residue outsideRainville'sskull,Markesteynconcluded that the gun must have been held at a 90-degree angle to the side of her head, which is consistent with suicide.

"There is no doubt, from a scientific point of view, that this was a perpendicular-held gun at the time of firing,"Markesteyntoldthe fifth estate.

The Crown also claimed that the factthe bullet was found lodged in the back ofRainville'shead meantit must have gone in a straight line, fired from a 30-degreeangle at the front of her head again, a finding consistent with murder.

According to the experts, the bullet went from the left temple, ricocheted off the rightside of the head, and ended up at the back of the head, a trajectory consistent with agunshot to the left temple at 90 degreesthat is, byRainville.

A black powder burn

The final piece of evidence in theDelisletrial was the black powder burn found onRainville'sleft hand. The Crown claimed it was a result of her trying to defend herselffrom her alleged killer. The defence claimed it was a result ofRainvillefiring the gunherself.

Dr. MichaelShkrumof the Health Sciences Centre in London, Ont., says the Crown got itwrong ifRainvillehad in fact obtained the burns in self-defence, they would havebeen on a different part of her palm.

These burns, he says, in this pattern, indicate she was likely holding the gun herself.

"All the testing has been based on this 30-degree angle, and from what I've seen of thematerials that were provided to me, they couldn't seem to replicate the deposition of thesoot or powder residues on the deceased's hand."

The assessment is just the first hurdle in a long process of reviewing convictions.

Rainville,71, who was partially paralyzed as a result of a stroke several years earlier,was found in her Quebec City home on Nov. 12, 2009,lying on the couch witha bullet in her head.

In an exclusive interview withthe fifth estateandEnqute,Delislesaid that while he did not kill his wife, he did provide her with the gun she usedto shoot herself.

• Watch Murder and theJudge