B.C. Murder Suspect Acquitted, Confession Tossed for 'Degrading' Police Treatment
Justice Palbinder Shergill ruled that police tactics, including sleep deprivation and undercover stings, made Frederick Charlie’s confession involuntary.
- On Monday, British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Palbinder Shergill acquitted Frederick Charlie, a First Nations man, of murdering his common-law wife, Vanessa Terry, near Agassiz.
- Shergill ruled Charlie's confession inadmissible, finding officers from the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team at the Chilliwack RCMP detachment used "degrading and humiliating" tactics during interrogation.
- Investigators deprived Charlie of sleep and placed him with an undercover officer who urinated on himself, creating an "environment that was cumulatively oppressive" that undermined his voluntary consent.
- The judge found the decision to have an officer urinate in front of the suspect "defies logic," stating police interrogated Charlie beyond fatigue to force a confession.
- Released on Wednesday, Shergill's July 7 ruling ending the judge-only trial demonstrates how Charter protections operate as safeguards for accused persons in police custody.
32 Articles
32 Articles
Frederick Charlie acquitted for degrading treatment by police
An Indigenous man from British Columbia accused of murdering his common-law wife has been acquitted after a judge threw out a confession she says was tainted by the suspect’s “degrading and humiliating” treatment by police. The judge found homicide investigators forced Frederick Charlie, an Indigenous man, to change clothes in front of officers who knew he wasn’t wearing underwear and placed him in a cell with an undercover officer who delibera…
Winnipeg Free Press
B.C. murder suspect acquitted, confession tossed for 'degrading' police treatment
A British Columbia man accused of murdering his common-law wife has been acquitted after a judge threw out a confession she says was tainted by the suspect's
meadowlakeNOW
B.C. murder suspect acquitted, confession tossed for ‘degrading’ police treatment
A British Columbia man accused of murdering his common-law wife has been acquitted after a judge threw out a confession she says was tainted by the suspect's "degrading and humiliating" treatment by police. The judge found homicide investigators forced...
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