Hammer-death sting had to be degrading to women, jury told

KAMLOOPS — When police launched an undercover investigation of a man suspected of bludgeoning his girlfriend to death with a hammer, officers were advised to use language that degraded women, a jury has heard.

One of the officers who posed as a gangster during the investigation of Robert Balbar said officers also had to be racist in an attempt to gain the trust of a 42-year-old suspect.

“In this undercover operation, I was playing a member of a criminal organization — somewhat of a professional criminal with a rougher edge,” said the RCMP officer, who cannot be named, before a B.C. Supreme Court jury heard a recording.

Balbar is charged with seconddegree murder in the 2003 death of Heather Hamill, his girlfriend of two years.

The jury heard audio that was recorded in Vancouver on Dec. 6, 2007 — more than two months into the so-called Mr. Big sting targeting Balbar.

He can be heard talking with the Mountie following a staged meeting in a hotel bar involving the supposed leader of a fictitious criminal organization.

In the recording, Balbar was told that the purported crime boss would be looking into his past.

The officer asked if he would find anything that could put “heat” on the gang. Initially, Balbar said he was suspected of killing “a couple people” in Kamloops.

“My girlfriend got whacked and a few other people got whacked and they’re trying to say it was me,” Balbar said.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this before?” the undercover officer replied. “How many are we talking about?”

“Maybe four guys, one girl,” Balbar replied.

Balbar said he didn’t think he “had heat” on him. But he soon retreated from his claim about four men being killed and confessed to murdering Hamill.

“She got whacked out and went nutty,” Balbar said. “So, I whacked her upside the head with a hammer.”

“What’s the big deal about that?” the officer asked, dismissing the victim with a couple of vulgarities.