PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – A trial date has been set for a man from Wakaw, Sask., and a woman from Melfort, Sask., who are charged with conspiring to murder their spouses.
Curtis Vey and Angela Nicholson, both in their early 50s, will go on trial beginning on Sept. 14, 2015.
The year-long wait is because Court of Queen’s Bench in Prince Albert, Sask., isn’t free for a two-week block until then.
Police allege that the pair plotted to kill Vey’s wife in a house fire while Nicholson’s husband would die of an overdose on Halloween.
Both were released on bail more than a year ago under conditions to stay away from each other and their respective spouses.
Nicholson’s lawyer, Ron Piche, says his client maintains her innocence.
He says the long wait for a lengthy trial is necessary since preliminary talks with the Crown and Vey’s lawyer could not resolve the matter.
“There is essentially three separate recordings the Crown is relying on, and it’s not a particularly complex set of facts,” says Piche. “However, conspiracy to commit murder can be a fairly complex area of law, so it’ll be interesting.”
Vey and Nicholson cannot be compelled to testify because they’re jointly charged, he added.
“They both have a right to silence at their trial and there’s no legal mechanism by which the Crown can call either one of these two individuals to testify.”
Had the two been charged separately they could be called as witnesses.
The length and expense of separate trials may have played a role in the decision to lay joint charges, said Piche.
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