WINNIPEG — The family of Kaila Tran is trying to sue the man who was once accused of having a hand in her murder.
Drake Moslenko, 30, was charged with first degree murder in 2012, just days following the murder of his girlfriend. But in 2014, that first degree murder charge was stayed by the court and Moslenko has never been convicted of anything related to Tran’s murder.
A jury found an acquaintance Treyvonne Willis guilty of first degree murder in 2015, he’s now appealing that decision.
Tran’s family believes Moslenko orchestrated her murder and they’re attempting to sue him in a rare “wrongful death” application made in civil court Tuesday, trying to recover over $200,000 in life insurance money. According to court documents, Moslenko has already claimed $50,000 from one of Tran’s life insurance policies.
In a sworn statement to the court, Tran’s sister Tiffany Tran claims she was told by police and crown prosecutors after Willis’ trial in 2015, that there’s a police interrogation video of Willis admitting Moslenko hired him to kill Tran, a video that was never used in the criminal trial.
“This is an actual videotape of Treyvonne Willis uttering the phrase, ‘Drake Moslenko asked me to kill her’.” said Tran’s lawyer Jamie Kagan Tuesday in court, “To allow Mr. Moslenko to received the financial benefits from his wrongful act deserves the address of the civil courts.”
Moslenko now lives in Vancouver and wasn’t in court Tuesday but his lawyer Richard Beamish shot back saying, “It’s double and triple hearsay there’s no evidence at all, there’s no material evidence that’s been learned that supports this application.”
Beamish said the alleged video statement from Willis isn’t credible.
“Why didn’t the Crown put it forward at trial then? Why didn’t they use it to prosecute Moslenko? That’s the big gap.” said Beamish.
The judge reserved his decision for a later date.