Garry Handlen found guilty of first-degree murder in killing of Monica Jack

A jury has found Garry Handlen guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of 12-year-old Monica Jack over 40 years ago.

Members of Jack’s family who were in the courtroom’s public gallery cheered and broke into tears after the verdict was read out in B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon.

Globalnews.ca coverage of the Monica Jack murder trial

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Jurors were asked to consider Handlen’s confession to an undercover RCMP officer who heard the man say he abducted, sexually assaulted and strangled Jack in May 1978.

The hidden-camera confession that jurors watched during the 11-week trial was characterized as false by Handlen’s defence team.

Handlen told a supposed crime boss he grabbed Jack from a highway pullout in Merritt and drove up a hill where he killed her, burned her clothes and left her body.

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Crown counsel told jurors in closing arguments that Handlen’s detailed admission to an undercover RCMP officer was not coerced and was motivated by his belief he would escape prosecution.

More to come…

— With files from Rumina Daya and The Canadian Press