‘Ultimately he ended up dead’: jailhouse letter allegedly from Will to Tim Rempel

WARNING: This story contains graphic language. Discretion is advised.

Details of a letter about the death of Ryan Lane and disposal of his body purportedly written by Will Rempel to his brother, Tim Rempel, while in jail can now be made public, as the jury in the Calgary father’s murder trial was sequestered Tuesday afternoon.

The letter was not allowed as evidence in court, so the jury did not see or hear its contents. The letter was the subject of a voir dire, which refers to a trial within a trial.

Sheena Cuthill, her husband, Tim Rempel, and his brother, Will Rempel, are all accused of first-degree murder and have all pleaded not guilty. Ryan Lane was last seen alive Feb. 6, 2012.

READ MORE: ‘All 3 meant to have Ryan Lane murdered’ – prosecution gives final arguments

Justice Alan Macleod ruled the letter was not reliable, and it was not allowed into the trial proper.

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In the voir dire, Tim Rempel testified he received a letter from his brother in October 2015, while the two were in the Calgary Remand Centre.

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“He knocked on my door…he held up a piece of paper on his side of the door,” Tim testified.

Tim said he believed Will was the author, saying it was his handwriting.

Tim testified, “when I read it I was a little bit surprised.”

He continued to read excerpts of the letter in court.

“I made a very bad decision to dispose of Ryan’s body after he died while in my custody…s–t went south and ultimately he ended up dead.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I made a very bad decision to dispose of Ryan's body after he died while in my custody…s-t went south and ultimately he ended up dead."

“I did this to protect you and yours.”

“The coppers can prove that you and Sheena did not like Ryan and you and Sheena cannot deny that, but even with all that evidence they are still a long, long way off from proving murder.”

The letter goes on to absolve Tim Rempel and Cuthill of any involvement in the crime.

“The circumstances of his death has absolutely nothing to do with you or Sheena.”

It also says the author went to “great lengths to draw as much attention to myself and to deflect as much away from you as I could.”

Tim continued reading the letter in court: “the cops have ideas, I have facts. Their theory does not fit the actual timeline. My facts will 100 per cent fit the real events and timeline.”

Tim testified he read the letter in his cell then placed it in an envelope and mailed it to the office of his defence lawyer, Allan Fay.

During the voir dire, the judge was reminded of wire tap evidence, where Will Rempel had told his mother, Mary Rempel, he would take the blame.

Below are excerpts from a May 20, 2012 wire intercept:

Mary Rempel: “I really, really don’t want Tim and Sheena to have to lose their kids.”

Will Rempel: “Before that would happen I will go down as a sacrificial lamb myself. Don’t worry about it.”

The presiding trial judge ruled the letter was not reliable. He said there was not a lot of factual detail to it.

Will Rempel was also heard denying killing Lane in the intercepted conversation, which contradicts the contents of the letter. He said:

“We didn’t kill that boy. We didn’t kidnap that boy. We had a conversation with him. Tim busted his face up a bit. I got blood in my truck ‘cause I was gonna give him a ride home. He got out of the truck of his own free will. He walked west and I drove east. But you don’t even know that.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We didn't kill that boy. We didn't kidnap that boy. We had a conversation with him. Tim busted his face up a bit. I got blood in my truck 'cause I was gonna give him a ride home. He got out of the truck of his own free will. He walked west and I drove east. But you don't even know that."

Justice Macleod ruled there was a motive to fabricate the evidence, and therefore denied allowing it in the trial.

The jury began deliberating Tuesday just after 12 p.m. and retired after 9 hours of deliberating.

They will resume Wednesday morning.

Note: Court heard a “kite” is a jailhouse term for a letter.