UPDATE: Assault charges against Sask. MLA withdrawn
Assault charges against Saskatchewan Rivers MLA Nadine Wilson will be heading to mediation, not criminal court.
Wilson’s lawyer, Mark Brayford, said the prosecutor made the mediation request in Saskatoon’s provincial court on Thursday.
Brayford added it didn’t make sense for this matter to go through criminal court due to the sensitive family nature of the dispute where the alleged assault took place.
The assault charges stem from a prolonged family dispute involving Wilson’s father, Walter Helbig, who suffered from dementia.
Wilson was the power of attorney, but her stepmother and her children voiced concerns about how marital property and care was being handled.
The dispute came to a head on March 21, when Wilson allegedly assaulted 87-year-old Lorraine Kingsley Helbig and her son Eric Hoknes in Lorraine and Walter’s Saskatoon apartment.
Lorraine’s daughter, Catherine Heinz, arrived at the scene shortly after being contacted by Hoknes.
Brayford said that was also the last time Wilson saw her father alive. Walter passed away on April 30 at the age of 90.
“This is exactly the kind of case that should go through mediation,” Brayford said in a phone interview Thursday, noting the emotionally-charged nature of the power-of-attorney dispute.
When Global News contacted Heinz Thursday afternoon it was the first she heard the case was going to mediation.
According to Heinz, her side of the family has primarily been dealing with the Saskatoon Police Service on the case, and said she does not know the name of the assigned prosecutor.
“How do you mediate with someone who attacked you? I understand that for estate issues, but not assault.”
A mediation date has been set for Oct. 7. If the mediator decides a solution can be found, the assault charges against Wilson will be withdrawn.