A Mînî Thnî (formerly Morley) First Nation woman has been found guilty of impaired driving causing death in the killing of a motorcyclist along Highway 1A near Morley Road in Cochane in August 2022.
The trial for 31-year-old Dierdre Snow was held in front of a jury this week in Court of Kings Bench in Calgary.
Snow originally faced five charges related to impaired driving causing death and bodily harm and public mischief, but four of the charges were thrown out and the jury was only asked to deliberate on one charge of impaired driving causing death.
53-year-old Canadian Forces veteran Samantha Wylie of Fort Saskatchewan was killed in the crash.
While Snow had admitted to being impaired, she insisted she wasn’t driving and had maintained her innocence, despite an apparent confession to the RCMP, recorded eight months after the crash and entered into evidence during the trial.
The video of the confession was recorded on April 6, 2023 after DNA evidence linked Snow to the driver’s seat.
Members of Wylie’s family, who were in court when the jury delivered its verdict described it as “a weight off their shoulders.”
Choking back tears, her daughter, Haley Perrault, said “it’s been a really long time coming, but I’m so grateful for their time and effort and the vedict they came back with.
“I feel like a sigh of relief has finally left my body after what feels like an eternity and I can finally breathe,” said Perrault. “And we can move on.”
Snow has been released on bail until she is sentenced, which defence lawyer Dale Fedorchuk said may not happen for several months.