SASKATOON – A Saskatoon judge has rejected the motion to reopen the Douglas Hales first-degree murder trial which would have allowed the defence to call new evidence.
On Thursday, Judge Allbright provide counsel with his decision in writing and the final submissions on the matter will take place on Nov. 14.
Hales is accused of killing Daleen Bosse, a young mother of one, in May 2004. Hales was arrested on Aug. 10, 2008 after being targeted in a “Mr. Big” police sting, where undercover RCMP officers, posing as criminals, got him to confess to killing her and lead them to her remains.
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Following a Supreme Court ruling on the technique that called such confession into question, Hales’ lawyer Bob Hrycan asked the judge to declare a mistrial but that too was denied in late September.
Based on the submissions presented at court on Oct. 22, the defence was planning to call evidence that would be psychological in nature, a psychologist that had testified before in Mr. Big cases and had his evidence accepted by the courts according to Hrycan.
While Crown Prosecutor Matthew Miazga said the evidence would be potentially useful, it was unclear to him how a psychologist would be able to assess Hales’ mental state at the time after six years has passed.
During the trial, Hales testified that Bosse died of alcohol poisoning after the two were drinking together. When he couldn’t find a pulse, he panicked and burnt her body in a wooded area north of Saskatoon.
Based on the evidence from the RCMP “Mr. Big” sting, Hales admitted to choking Bosse in the early morning hours of May 18, 2004.
“I felt, ah, all the anger out of everyone that’s f#*%ed around with me, I f#*%ing took it out on her,” said Hales, transcribed from the audio recording during the sting when Hales led undercover officers to the remains on Aug. 7, 2008.
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