Joseph “David” Caissie will “absolutely” plead not guilty to murdering Carol King, according to his defence lawyer who spoke to reporters on Wednesday morning after his client made his first court appearance.
King was last seen alive on Aug. 6, 2011 in Herschel, Sask. Her body was found near the community three weeks later.
Caissie, who is from who is from Bluffton, Alta., is reportedly an ex-boyfriend of King’s. Police arrested him near Saskatoon on Tuesday morning and charged him with first degree murder and offering an indignity to a human body.
READ MORE: Alberta man charged with first-degree murder in death of Carol King
Defence lawyer Ron Piché said Wednesday that his client has “been under this cloud for some five years.”
“Police spared no effort in trying to pursue him,” Piché said to reporters after the brief court appearance.
“Certainly you know the practice of police in these kind of so called ‘cold files,’ they don’t seem to spare any resources to try to pursue and reach a kind of conclusion like this.”
Piché said he had been in contact with Caissie over the course of two to three years and served as a consultant on what he should say and do during the course of the investigation.
“The public knows of him, the allegations swirled about his involvement,” Piché said.
“He was extremely cooperative with police; he denied any involvement in this from the get go.”
READ MORE: Family angry over lack of progress in Carol King’s homicide investigation
The first step for the defence in Caissie’s matter is to secure his release as he awaits trial, Piché said.
“Our court of appeals have been clear, the seriousness of the charges are certainly something that the judge will weigh, but it’s not the be all and end all,” Piché said.
“He’s fifty-three years of age, he’s about to be fifty-four, there’s no where he would go, his roots are in the Saskatchewan, Alberta provinces.”
READ MORE: Feeling of safety returns to Herschel 3 years after Carol King murder
Caissie was ordered by the court to not have any contact with a handful of people who are potential witnesses and family members, according to Piché.
“My client is prepared to co-operate, if that’s what they want, that’s what they’ll get.”
Caissie is scheduled to next appear in provincial court on Aug. 3.
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