A man convicted of a 1994 murder in Richmond was back in court Monday requesting bail.
William Wade Skiffington was found guilty in 2001 of second degree murder in the shooting death of his common law partner Wanda Lee Martin. She was at a friend’s Richmond apartment with her toddler son, and the friend returned in the afternoon to find her dead.
There was no forensic evidence linking Skiffington to the crime, and the murder weapon was never found. The conviction centered on Skiffington’s taped confession, obtained by RCMP officers through a “Mr. Big” style scheme.
The controversial tactic used by B.C. RCMP sees undercover officers pose as gang members and befriend a suspect by offering them relatively easy jobs for large sums of cash. Then, in order for the suspect to be officially welcomed into the fake gang, the officers arrange a meeting with the gang’s boss, Mr. Big.
Suspects are told to come clean about a past crime so that the gang can destroy any incriminating evidence.
This is how police obtained Skiffington’s confession on Feb. 8, 2000.
Skiffington appealed his conviction in 2004, his lawyers argued that the original judge failed to adequately warn the jury about the unreliability of Mr. Big confessions. They argued Skiffington was pressured into confessing, since undercover officers told him they believed he had killed his wife prior to meeting Mr. Big. Confession to the crime would also promise wealth because he’d be welcomed into the gang.
A B.C. Supreme Court justice dismissed the appeal.
Since his original conviction and failed appeal, a 2014 Supreme Court of Canada ruling has tightened the rules around admitting Mr. Big confessions into evidence. Now, if the defence’s lawyers can show that police abused their power in obtaining a Mr. Big confession, it won’t be considered.
Such provisions were not available when Skiffington’s case was originally tried and appealed. According to media reports, the federal justice minister has ordered a review of his case and he is seeking bail while
Calls to Skiffington’s lawyers and crown counsel Monday afternoon were not unreturned.
The bail hearing was adjourned with no decision, and will resume Tuesday morning.
