A convicted Mountie killer had his appeal for a new trial rejected by Saskatchewan’s highest court Thursday morning.
Curtis Dagenais was convicted in 2009 of the first degree murders of two RCMP officers, constables Marc Bourdages and Robin Cameron, as well as the attempted murder of Cst. Michelle Knopp in 2006 near Spiritwood, Sask.
“Certainly they agreed with the crown submissions that the verdict was proper and in accordance with the law,” said crown prosecutor Dean Sinclair.
During his trial, Dagenais claimed the shootings following a vehicle pursuit were in self-defence. At his appeal, however, Dagenais argued the trial judge did not properly explain to the jury how he had been provoked into shooting the officers after his vehicle was rammed. Defence of provocation could have reduced his charges to manslaughter.
After a quick deliberation, the argument, which contradicts his testimony of self defence, did not fly with the three judge panel.
“The court of appeal found that an ordinary person wouldn’t have been provoked to murder two police officers simply because the officers tried to get him to stop,” Sinclair explained.
Dagenais also insisted a videotape that went missing from one of the RCMP vehicles involved in the incident violated his rights. The panel found there was no evidence for that claim. A final argument centered on the idea the jury should have been instructed to come to a unanimous decision on each element of the charges against Dagenais, along with the final verdict.
The panel addressed Dagenais’ Prince Albert based lawyer Peter Abrametz, saying “You couldn’t have done anything else for your client. It was a difficult case.”
“It was a big day for him,” Abrametz said after the appeal was denied. “We were waiting a long time and I think he just wants some time to process that information and decide what to do, if anything, next.”
Dagenais appeared via video conference from Prince Albert during the appeal. He will continue to serve a life sentence and will be eligible for parole in 2031.
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