Murder case won’t go to trial

Case to be resolved without calling evidence

The trial for a Calgary woman accused of killing her elderly mother more than two years ago has been cancelled while lawyers arrange to resolve the case without sitting through the four-week hearing. Crown prosecutor Brad Stephenson said Monday in Lethbridge Court of Queen’s Bench that the second-degree murder case against Lisa Freihaut will be resolved without calling any evidence. The trial, which was set to begin Sept. 4, has been vacated, and the matter has been adjourned until next month when, pending discussions between the Crown and defence, it could be resolved.

Freihaut is accused of killing her 78-year-old Lethbridge mother, Irene Carter, in 2016. Police reported Carter was stabbed during a physical altercation with another woman, and her body was found inside her home in the 300 block of Normandy Road South on Jan. 17, 2016 after family members, who couldn't reach her for several days, went to check on her.

During a news conference the following April at the Calgary police headquarters, Freihaut made an emotional plea urging anyone with information about her mother's death to contact police. She was arrested and charged later the same month.

Freihaut was released from custody in June 2016 on $100,000 surety and several conditions, but she was placed back in custody last May during her arraignment in Court of Queen’s Bench, where she pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and the trial was set.