HALIFAX – Murder charges have been withdrawn against a Nova Scotia man accused of killing his common-law wife.
Albert Rex Baird was arrested in May 2013, and charged with the first-degree murder of Rhonda Wilson, who has been missing since 2002.
On Wednesday, Judge Claudine MacDonald announced the charges against Baird were being dismissed.
In a statement, the RCMP said it respects the Crown’s decision, but maintains there are reasonable grounds for the first-degree murder charge.
“This news is disappointing to Rhonda’s family, however, we have reassured them that our investigation is ongoing and remains active,” the statement reads.
In July, the Supreme Court of Canada placed strict limitations on how police can use the controversial “Mr Big” technique.
The Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service told Global News Baird’s case is the first in the province to be affected by the decision.
Police say Baird reported Wilson missing on Aug. 10 2002, three days after she left their Kentville home to go for a walk. She was 31 years old at the time of her disappearance.
In June of 2013, investigators conducted an extensive search of a large wooded area in Sheffield Mills, N.S., but did not find Wilson’s body.
The Mr. Big investigation is used to obtain confessions in cold cases.
Police go undercover, posing as members of a criminal organization, and befriend a suspect. They try to recruit the suspect, and once they gain the suspect’s trust, they set up an interview with the head of the fake organization, known as “Mr. Big.”
The person posing as Mr. Big asks about the past crime, putting pressure on the suspect to confess.
Shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, RCMP sergeant Al Haslett, who developed the tactic 25 years ago, told Global News he was disappointed in the decision.
“It’s one of the strongest tools to solve murders,” he said at the time. “We’ve solved closed to 500 homicides that may never have been solved.”
With files from Justin McElroy, Global News
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