SASKATOON – John Glen MacAulay, 46, made a plan and carried it out in stages right before his death.
The suspected murderer penned letters proclaiming his innocence in the death of Norman Playter then staggered the arrival of documents before taking his own life at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre on Friday, March 4, 2016.
MacAulay’s attorney, Kevin Hill, says in the course of his career he’s reviewed suicide notes but never one addressed to him.
On Friday, Hill received an eight-page document from his client detailing what information MacAulay had about Playter’s remains but denied any involvement in his death.
The two-part letter also contained a suicide note and after phoning the facility twice, Hill learned his client had hung himself in his cell prior to Hill receiving the document.
On Tuesday, Hill received yet another piece of mail from MacAulay postdated March 4.
“One part of the letter essentially says that he releases all client privileged and you can release any and all information to police and the media.”
After consulting senior defence counsel, Hill has turned the letters over as evidence to RCMP.
“I think I want to fulfill some of my obligations to my client which is that he has his perspective, he wants it known, he wants it known to the authorities and to his family in Ontario so I’ve taken steps to affect that,” Hill said.
“Where it goes from there that’s up to the authorities.”
On Jan. 17, the RCMP Major Crime Unit charged MacAulay, of North Bay, Ont., with second-degree murder in the death of Playter in May 2014. Playter had been reported missing to the Calgary Police Service, however the investigation revealed that he had been visiting Saskatchewan leading up to his death.
By mid-February, MacAulay faced an additional charge of offering an indignity to human remains and was accused of putting Playter’s body in a refrigerator then burning it.
MacAulay’s preliminary hearing was to begin in late June and he was known to Playter. Both were members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.