On Friday, a judge found Joseph “David” Caissie guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his ex-girlfriend Carol King and offering an indignity to her remains.
King, who was originally from Newfoundland, went missing from her home near Herschel, Sask., on Aug. 6, 2011.
Her car was recovered by RCMP on Aug. 10, 2011, and three weeks later her remains were discovered in a wooded area roughly six kilometres away.
The King family, who listened from the east coast to the portions of the 80-page ruling, said the verdict was a victory.
“This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for and it took seven and a half years, but we are thrilled,” Carol’s sister Brenda King told Global News.
“She was an amazing person, thoughtful, friendly and the most fun person you could ever want to be around and I miss her dearly.”
Caissie was arrested and charged with King’s murder in 2016 after a “Mr. Big” sting was used in the cold case. Caissie confessed to killing King to undercover officers five different times over the course of five months.
For Justice Richard Danyliuk, it was these repeated, consistent confessions he felt were “highly reliable” and placed significant weight on the confessions in reaching his verdict.
“That evidence was critical because had there not been that operation taking place there would have never been a resolution for the family for this case,” senior Crown prosecutor Matthew Mizaga said.
Inside court, Caissie said he had nothing to say.
His defence counsel Kevin Hill expressing disappointment in the decision outside of a Saskatoon court, said his client was upset.
“It just was dangerous to rely on an inherently unreliable Mr. Big operation,” Hill said.
“The Mr. Big operation was not corroborated by the collateral evidence or the original investigation – the Justice found otherwise.”
WATCH BELOW: Coverage of Carol King’s murder and the trial of Joseph “David” Caissie
An appeal in this case is not out of the question.
If a “faint-hope” clause were to be granted, Caissie could apply for parole eligibility 10 years early.
A first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole eligibility for 25 years.
In his case, ineligibility starts from the date of his arrest and when charges where laid in King’s death. He will not be able to apply until July 19, 2041, when he’s in his late 70s.