Waiting continues for father of slain man
Appeal court could reverse convictions
The frustration in Dale Hird’s voice is evident.
“It’s unreal,” Hird said Thursday, after sitting through a day ’s worth of lawyer submissions at the Alberta Court of Appeal over whether murder convictions against two men in his son’s killing should be overturned.
“It’s really hard to sit there and go over it again, to know what they did to my son.
“They’re trying to get away with murder.”
A three-member Court of Appeal panel heard submissions from defence lawyers Balfour Der and Gavin Wolch seeking acquittals for their clients, Assmar Shlah and Franz Cabrera, who were convicted of second-degree murder.
At the very least, the lawyers are seeking either manslaughter convictions or new trials for their involvement in the killing of Lukas Strasser-Hird, who was fatally stabbed Nov. 23, 2013, after being swarmed outside a Beltline-area nightclub.
Der said while what happened to Strasser-Hird was horrible, the evidence didn’t prove Shlah’s guilt.
“The optics here are terrible ... but optics don’t prove essential
It’s really hard to sit there and go over it again, to know what they did to my son. They’re trying to get away with murder.
elements of a crime,” Der said.
“For my client to be found guilty, there has to be proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Wolch said there were errors made by trial Justice Glen Poelman, including refusing to declare co-accused Nathan Gervais an absconding accused.
Gervais, who is charged with first-degree murder, only recently was returned to Canada from Vietnam, after he fled the country before their May 2016 trial.
Declaring Gervais had absconded from his trial would have allowed jurors to find he alone was responsible for Strasser-Hird’s death.
But Crown prosecutor Iwona Kuklicz noted Poelman said such a ruling couldn’t be made because Gervais fled before the trial began.
“Clearly, Mr. Gervais was not on trial,” Kuklicz said.
“He had never entered a plea ... the trial doesn’t start until a plea is actually entered.”
The appeal judges reserved their decision.