Red Deer triple murder trial schedule threatens to derail 2 Calgary cases

A judge in Red Deer, Alta., who is trying to protect a triple first-degree murder trial from derailingmay be putting two Calgary trials at risk of exceeding deadlines imposed by the Supreme Court of Canada whichmeans men accused of either killing orplotting to kill could walk free.

On Monday, the first-degree murder trial began in Red Deer for Jason Klaus, 41, and his friend Joshua Frank, who are accused of killingKlaus'parents and sister Gordon, Sandra and Monica Klaus.

The threedied in a house firein Castor,Alta., onDec. 8, 2013.Klaus and Frank were charged eight months later.

The defence lawyers involved in the Klaus and Franktrial also have major trials beginning in Calgary the week after the Red Deer trial is scheduled to end.

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Butit will almost certainly needmore time and Edmonton Court of Queen's Bench Justice Eric Macklin, who is hearing the trial in Red Deer,sayshe plans to plow throughdespite the scheduling conflicts.

"I'm not going to adjourn this trial so that other trials can proceed,"Macklinsaid in court on Monday.

That means a man accused of killing his wife, and three Calgary gangsters facing charges ofplotting a murder, could walk free if those trials are rebooked, causingfurther delay.

A 2016 Supreme Court of Canada ruling dealt with the issue of unconstitutional delay by imposing hard timelines on trials. For superior court matters, a case can take30 months from the date of a charge to trial.

Judges have the power to stay essentially drop charges if they feel the accused's right to a timely trial has been violated.

The Red Deer trial which began Monday has already lost three of its seven weeks; it faced atwo-week adjournment at the outset so defence lawyers could prepare to fight the admissibility of evidence gathered in an undercover operation. Also, thejudge isn't availablethe week of Nov. 20.

'We're going right through'

Prosecutor Doug Taylor has indicated he needs the remaining four weeks to call his35 witnesses, but defence lawyer Allan Fay says both he and Frank'slawyers are also likely to call evidence.

Macklin says the trial shouldresume Nov. 27, but that's the week the two other trials involving all three defence lawyers are set to begin in Calgary.

"So we're looking at a continuation, no matter which way you slice this," said Klaus' lawyer, Allan Fay.

Justice Macklin said if the Klaus and Frank trial is adjourned, they are likely to havecontinuation dates in 2019. It hasalready been more than 38 months since the two menwere charged.

"This trial's going to have to finish and we're going right through," said Macklin.

Even though defence lawyers argued unsuccessfully earlier this year that their clients rights have been violated byunreasonable delaysfrom charge to trial, that issue could be re-opened if there is further delay.

2 Calgary trials at risk

All three defence lawyers involved in the Red Deer murder trial are set to begin twoCalgary trials at the end of November.

On Nov. 29, Toni Roulston and Andrea Urquhartare supposed to represent Henry Nguyenon a charge of conspiracy to commit murder.

Their client and two others were charged nearly 55 months ago after police uncovered a plot to kill a rival gangster.

Nguyen was amember of the FOB gang, one of Calgary's most violent criminalorganizations.A gang war between the FOBand the FK (FOB Killers) is connected to at least 25 deaths between 2002 and 2009.

Two days before Nguyen's trial, Allan Fay's client Joshua Burgess' second-degree murder trial is supposed to get underway. Burgess is accused of killing his wife Shannon Madill and hiding her body at the home the couple shared in Ramsay. He was charged 28 months ago.

That trial was originally set for February2018, but prosecutor Susan Pepper was concerned about the Jordan timelines, so she and Fay had it rebooked for November.

Macklin said he willdo what he can to help and he told the defence lawyers that he plans to contact the two other judges involved in the November trials.

"It looks like the acute problems this court faces are coming to a head," said Macklin.

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