A lawyer for a Richmond senior recently convicted of murdering her friend in June 1992 has denied an allegation that his client tried to obtain false ID to flee the country.
The denial was made by lawyer Ravi Hira during his application to grant bail for Jean Ann James pending her appeal of her November 2011 conviction of the first-degree murder of Grace Wakabayashi.
In court Tuesday, a letter written by a fellow inmate at the Fraser Valley Institution for Women to the Crown stated James wanted to obtain fake ID - specifically of a First Nations person - to flee Canada.
James allegedly told the inmate she had relatives in England and the U.S. and money at her disposal.
Hira quoted from an affidavit filed by James denying the allegations.
Hira also argued that the circumstances of his client's confession to under-cover police were exceptional and she should be entitled to bail.
The judge reserved judgment.
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