After six years of waiting, it appears Pauline and Herb Muskego may soon have a verdict in the case of the man accused of killing their daughter.
Douglas Hales has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Daleen Bosse of Onion Lake Cree Nation since 2008.
The Crown and defence made final arguments in the case at Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench on Friday morning.
A verdict was originally supposed to come down in August but this was delayed after a Supreme Court ruling on Mr. Big undercover police sting operations.
The ruling brings into to doubt the validity of confessions made during such operations due to possible police inducements and coercion.
Police relied heavily on a Mr. Big operation, where officers pose as a fictitious criminal organization in order to lure in a target, to net a murder confession out of Hales.
A judge must now decide what is what may not be admissible evidence presented in the trial.
Crown prosecutor Matt Miazga warns a verdict will likely come down on Dec. 17 when both sides return to court but this does not necessarily mean the end of the case.
“Things can happen, you know one can never be sure of what’s going to take place,” he says. “There’s also the possibility that there will be an appeal on either side because of some of the important issues that are being addressed, especially with the Hart case (Supreme Court ruling on Mr. Big). So that even though there may be a verdict that day, that doesn’t mean the case may not continue to proceed through the courts, if there’s an appeal.”
Regardless, Miazga says the Crown believes its case against Hales is strong enough for a conviction even if Justice Gerald Albright rules certain statements made during the Mr. Big operation inadmissible.
“If the Mr. Big statements are found to be inadmissible, as I had mentioned before, the court can still rely upon the confession he gave to the police. That is officers Ferrien and Cox (Saskatoon police) during which he made similar admissions about what happened to Ms. Bosse as well as him strangling her causing her death.”
Daleen Bosse went missing in May of 2004.