Trial of man accused of killing 2 Mounties moved to Saskatoon
A judge has ordered that the trial of Curtis Dagenais, accused of killing two RCMP officers in 2006, will be heard in Saskatoon instead of North Battleford as had originally been planned.
No date has been set for the trial.
Dagenais, 43, was charged with killing two RCMP officers near Spiritwood, Sask.
Originally, Dagenais was to have his case heard before a North Battleford jury beginning Sept. 15. But that was derailed when he applied for a change of venue.
Justice Gerald Allbright released his decision regarding the application Wednesday.
“I am satisfied that the applicant has met the onus of demonstrating that a change of venue is necessary in order to ensure that he receive a fair trial with an impartial jury,” Allbright wrote.
Const. Robin Cameron, 29, and Const. Marc Bourdages, 26, died after being shot on a rural Saskatchewan road near the community of Spiritwood, about 100 kilometres north of Saskatoon, on July 7, 2006. The officers died in hospital within hours of each other a few days after the shootings.
Dagenais was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder after an 11-day manhunt.
Howard Cameron, whose daughter was slain, told CBC News that the family was disappointed with the delay.
“It postpones the final chapter in this tragic story where we as a family are looking for closure,” Cameron said in September from his home on the Beardy’s and Okemasis First Nation reserve.
