Hearing underway for man accused of killing ex-girlfriend

A preliminary hearing is underway in Saskatoon provincial court for Joseph (David) Caissie, who is charged with murder in the 2011 death of his ex-girlfriend, Carol King.

King’s body was found in an abandoned farmyard near Herschel on Aug. 27, 2011, three weeks after she was reported missing. Caissie, 53, was charged in July 2016 with first-degree murder and offering an indignity to a human body.

Police have not said why it took nearly five years to lay charges.

All information presented at the preliminary hearing is subject to a standard publication ban. The hearing will determine whether there is enough evidence to proceed to trial.

During the missing persons investigation, police located King ’s car in a slough on Aug. 10, 2011. Seventeen days later, locals found her remains six kilometres away from the site where her vehicle was recovered.

At the time, Caissie, who police questioned numerous times in connection to the investigation, said he had nothing to do with King ’s death. He said he was working in Alberta when King disappeared and that he was “the fall guy.”

In an interview with The Canadian Press, he said he put a lien on King ’s home, where the couple had been living just outside Herschel, after they broke up. He said it made him appear suspicious to police and King’s family.

“In this investigation, we were never able to clear Mr. Caissie,” RCMP Staff Sgt. Murray Chamberlin said after Caissie’s arrest.

Police confirmed King had a scheduled meeting with RCMP regarding an “ongoing investigation” on the day she went missing.

Caissie was denied bail in October 2016 and has been in custody since his arrest.