There has been a shocking development in the high-profile double homicide of a Strathcona County couple. The upcoming first degree murder trials for two youths accused in the deaths of Susan Trudel and Barry Boenke.
A trial was set to commence this September, but CTV News has learned the Crown has stayed the murder charges against the two accused, mainly because one of the statements made to police by one of the youths has been deemed inadmissible.
The pair's bodies were found east of Ardrossan on an acreage two years ago.
The RCMP were led to Boenke's property after Edmonton police pulled over the two youths in a pickup truck registered to him. In March of last year, police were seeking the public's help in finding a firearm officers believed was used in the double homicide.
The two youths were 14 at the time of the incident. They fled from a treatment facility near Sherwood Park called Bosco Homes a day before their arrests. The facility has since been closed.
Boenke's sister still finds it hard to believe her brother is gone.
"I holler at him sometimes when I'm alone, I say 'why why why, if only you were here'" said Gerlind Koesling.
And news that the trial won't go ahead in September as once planned, isn't sitting well with Koesling. She heard the news from a family member Thursday night.
"And all of a sudden, they're going to be let out. And I said why Kevin, what happened? And he said, 'well the judge feels the evidence one of the young fellows gave is not admissible.'"
Alberta Justice announced the stay in proceedings on Friday, but say they want to see if the judge's decision is open to appeal.
"In the statement that the judge ruled inadmissible, was key to the Crown's case. Without that, we no longer had a reasonable likelihood of conviction, and without that we are obliged to stop the prosecution," said Alberta Justice spokesperson, David Dear.
Investigators say they are continuing to work the case, trying to find new evidence to bring the teens to trial.
"We believe there are people out there, we truly believe there are people who have information," said RCMP spokesperson, Const. Wally Henry.
When the two teens are released they will still be wards of the province. And while Children's Services can't speak directly to the case, they can say that the teens will be put in supervised, specialized placements.
CTV News attempted to contact the lawyer representing the youth who made the inadmissible statement, and have not yet received a response.
With files from David Ewasuk
