Duo convicted of ‘a despicable crime’ on rural Alberta farm
Klaus, Frank to serve at least 25 years for killing Klaus’s parents and adult sister
The Crown will apply to have convicted killers Joshua Frank and Jason Klaus locked up for a minimum 75 years after they were convicted Wednesday of three counts of first-degree murder.
Crown prosecutor Doug Taylor told Justice Eric Macklin he will seek the maximum available punishment for the two killers over the Dec. 8, 2013, shooting deaths of Klaus’s parents and adult sister.
Both Klaus, 42, and Frank, 32, will receive mandatory life sentences for their roles in the slayings of Gordon, Sandra and Monica Klaus, who were shot dead by Frank in their Castor farmhouse.
But Macklin must still decide the issue of parole ineligibility.
Relatively new provisions of the Criminal Code allow for consecutive periods of parole ineligibility in cases of multiple murders.
The minimum period of time Macklin can order the duo held without full parole is 25 years.
He’ll hear sentencing submissions from the Crown and defence lawyers Allan Fay and Tonii Roulston on Jan. 22.
Macklin rejected testimony from both accused denying confessions they made to undercover RCMP officers posing as members of a criminal organization, and trying to pin the murders on each other.
The Court of Queen’s Bench judge ruled the pair conspired together to kill Klaus’ family members.
He said Klaus believed he would either receive a large insurance payment for the deaths, or get cash for the sale of the family’s farm.
“Mr. Klaus anticipated being in receipt of funds, either insurance money or money from either the operation or sale of the farm, and agreed to pay Mr. Frank some cash and also give him a truck,” Macklin said.
He said Klaus believed he and Frank had agreed to a payment between $10,000 and $20,000 for Frank to kill his family members, while the gunman thought he would get as much as $50,000.
The judge said the one major mistake made in the plan was Frank killing the family dog, Keela, outside the home and leaving the canine on the driveway.
“But for the shooting of the family dog, Keela, the deaths of Gordon, Sandra and Monica Klaus may never have been investigated as a homicide,” he said.
The victims were shot in the Castor farmhouse by Frank, after he was dropped at the scene by Klaus.
After shooting the couple and then Monica, Frank shot all three a second time to make sure they were dead, before spreading accelerant throughout the house and setting it on fire.
The blaze was so intense, no remains of Sandra Klaus could be identified.
Before adjourning for sentencing submissions, Macklin heard emotional victim-impact statements from some members of the Klaus family.
Marilyn Thomson, who lost her brother, sister-in-law and niece in the triple killings, described her horror at watching her nephew and his accomplice confess to an undercover Mountie posing as a crime boss.
“I was horrified and shocked after watching the Mr. Big sting video,” she said.
“I was absolutely devastated to hear and watch the arrogance, the bragging, the conceit, the ignorance, the cockiness and the sheer happiness of Jason and Josh, who are obviously buddies and proud of what they have done,” Thomson said.
Her daughter, Nicole, choked back tears as she explained how she had once loved her cousin.
“Jason, I used to love you and I will always treasure our time together, but who I thought you were died on Dec. 8, and I mourn your loss, too,” she said.
Outside court, Taylor said one word described what happened that cold wintry morning at the Klaus farm.
“It’s not my role as the Crown prosecutor to characterize the offence, that’s the responsibility of the court, but with that said, the word that comes to mind to me — and it always has since I learned of the case and got involved — is this is a despicable crime,” he said.