A Saskatchewan Queen’s Bench judge has ruled the iPod recording containing an alleged murder plot between former lovers Angela Nicholson and Curtis Vey is inadmissible evidence at trial.In addition to her written decision issued Monday in Prince Albert Court of Queen’s Bench, Justice Catherine Dawson also ordered a publication ban on all evidence called at last month’s admissibility hearing — known as a voir dire — as well as a publication ban on the reasons for her decision.
Curtis Vey (left) and Angela Nicholson.
Michelle Berg /
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Following Dawson’s ruling, lawyers were deciding how to proceed with the trial.The retrial for Vey and Nicholson — former lovers accused of plotting to kill their spouses in 2013 — was scheduled to begin Monday at Prince Albert Court of Queen’s Bench.Vey, who lives near Wakaw, and Nicholson, who is from Melfort, are each charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit murder against Brigitte Vey and Jim Taylor. The pair was convicted of the charges following a jury trial three years ago, but the Court of Appeal overturned the convictions.In its decision, the high court cited errors in the trial judge’s instructions to the jury. The appeal judges found jurors were not plainly told that in order to convict, they had to be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that both Vey and Nicholson had “a genuine intention to agree to commit murder.”The Crown argued Vey and Nicholson discussed burning down Vey’s house with Brigitte inside and making Taylor “go missing” while they were being secretly recorded by Vey’s wife. She hid the recorder under a table, expecting to catch her husband cheating, and turned the device over to police after discovering what was on it.Throughout the first trial, the pair’s lawyers argued their clients had no intentions of following through with anything they discussed.In a charter application filed last month, defence lawyers Aaron Fox and Ron Piche argued the iPod recording should be thrown out as evidence, saying Vey and Nicholson had a reasonable expectation of privacy when it was made, and that police seized the device without a warrant.
Angela Nicholson arrives at court in Prince Albert, Sask., Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Jennifer Graham /
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Curtis Vey arrives at court in Prince Albert, Sask., Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Jennifer Graham /
THE CANADIAN PRESS