The Crown will be allowed to use evidence gathered through a controversial law enforcement tactic in the trial of an Edmonton man accused of killing his girlfriend, a judge has ruled.
Shawn Wruck is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of 29-year-old Shannon Collins, whose remains were found on a rural property in Strathcona County in 2008.
At Wruck’s trial in Edmonton on Thursday, the judge ruled numerous confessions, garnered from Wruck during an RCMP-organized Mr. Big sting, will be admissible in the trial.
READ MORE: ‘Project Kolumbo’ secures murder confession through Mr. Big sting
Collins’ mother expressed her relief that the details would be used in the trial.
“It’s been a good day,” Maureen Collins said. “It’s been a long time, a long haul, but I think the decision today was very clear because you never know one way or the other which way it’s going to go but we feel it went the right way.”
Although the judge said the evidence could be used by the Crown, she has yet decide whether Wruck’s statements were actually truthful.
On Thursday, court heard that over the course of a five-month investigation, RCMP convinced Wruck he was part of a crime ring during which time he confessed to killing Collins by strangling her then dumping her body.
Last month, court heard the elaborate sting, dubbed Project Kolumbo, saw undercover officers develop scenarios to gain Wruck’s trust beginning in November 2012, in which they led the accused to believe they were members of a gang. At one point, RCMP staged a kidnapping and Wruck watched when one of the so-called criminals stuck a gun in a woman’s mouth. Wruck was also taken to a retirement party to show he could leave the criminal organization without any consequences.
In March 2013, a then 39-year-old Wruck was given a face-to-face meeting with a “Mr. Big”, or the fictitious leader of the gang he presumed he was becoming a part of. An undercover officer testified Wruck told Mr. Big about the murder from “start to finish” in an Edmonton industrial area.
On Thursday, the defence said it will present evidence that contradicts statements Wruck made during the Mr. Big sting. The defence also said it needed several more days to call evidence before closing arguments are made. A date has yet to be set for when the trial will continue.
Wruck is currently out on bail.
-With files from Kendra Slugoski
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