First-degree murder case adjourned to next month

A 59-year-old Lethbridge man accused of stabbing his wife to death in December last year had his matter heard Friday in Lethbridge court of justice.

The accused, David Albert Dragland, was represented by Lethbridge lawyer Darcy Shurtz, who made a brief appearance Friday to ask for an adjournment to June 30 expecting to be able to enter a plea by then, but the Crown opposed the request for that date.

The case has been assigned to Crown Prosecutor Michael Fox, who was not in attendance Friday, but has left instructions to adjourn the matter to June 9.

After the court raised the question about having jurisdiction for pleas, the matter was adjourned to June 9 to determine if it needs to be addressed in Court of King’s Bench.

Dragland, who remains in custody at the Lethbridge Correctional Centre and was not required to attend court Friday, is charged with one count of first-degree murder. The offence carries a mandatory sentence of imprisonment for life, with parole eligibility after 25 years.

At about 11 p.m. on Dec. 27 police responded to a disturbance involving a man and woman at a home in the 2500 block of 13 Avenue North. When police arrived a man walked out of the home and was arrested without incident.

Police found a critically injured woman inside the home and began life-saving procedures until EMS arrived and took over. The 59-year-old victim, identified as Shelley Dragland, sustained multiple stab wounds and died at the scene.

Police determined the couple had been together in the home when the man grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed the victim several times.

During a news conference following Dragland’s arrest, police said they were still investigating the motivation behind the attack.

-with files from Delon Shurtz