A man accused of killing his common-law wife more than ten years ago was denied bail Wednesday.
Duane Redelback was arrested in the fall of 2015 and charged with the second-degree murder of 40-year-old Ruth Degayo. He was also charged with indignity to a human body.
Degayo’s burned remains were found in an abandoned building in Exshaw, west of Calgary, in 2006 after Redelback reported her missing.
READ MORE: Alberta RCMP charge husband with second-degree murder in 2006 death of wife
It took several weeks for DNA tests to confirm the remains belonged to his wife.
A Queen’s Bench Justice turned down Redelback’s application for release Wednesday.
He sat in the prisoner’s box, wearing a blue prison jumpsuit with his head down as a written decision was read in the case.
There is a publication ban on evidence presented during the bail hearing.
A friend of Degayo told Global News Wednesday she is pleased with the decision.
Degayo had confided in Sister Lucille Field at a Calgary Catholic church in the months leading up to her death. She said Degayo told her she was caught in a cycle of domestic abuse, but was committed to the relationship.
“She wasn’t asking to leave him, she was asking for ways I could help her stay in the situation, asking for help to see her through the relationship.”
“I want it to be known that she wasn’t forgotten,” Field said.
For years, Field worried her friend’s death would never be solved.
Meantime, Redelback’s defence team is disappointed with the decision.
“The conditions at remand are very difficult, sometimes they are triple-bunked. They are locked up 23 hours a day. For someone with no criminal record to be in remand, it’s horrific,” defence lawyer Jillian Williamson said.
The case will be back in court for a preliminary inquiry Oct. 3 and is scheduled to last ten days.
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