Sandeson appeals decision to deny him bail while he awaits 2nd murder trial

William Sandeson is appealing a judge's decision to deny him bail as he awaits his second trial on a charge of first-degree murder.

Sandeson appeared before Justice James Chipman on Friday to make his third bid at interim release. After a half-day hearing, Chipman denied Sandeson's request.

In a notice filed Monday with the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, Sandeson asks the province's top court to overturn Chipman's decision and release him.

At his bail hearing, Sandeson was represented by Toronto-based criminal defence lawyer Alison Craig, but Sandeson has filed the appeal directly from jail. He's being held in the Northeast Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Pictou County. 

Publication ban

In his appeal, Sandeson notes that by the time his second trial begins in January 2023, he will have been in custody for more than seven years. He also cites specific grounds of appeal that deal with elements of Chipman's decision, which is covered by a publication ban.

Sandeson, 28, was just days away from starting medical school at Dalhousie University when he was arrested and charged with the murder of Taylor Samson, a fellow Dal student.

Samson disappeared in August 2015, after meeting Sandeson at his apartment in south-end Halifax. Samson's body has never been found.

Sandeson was convicted at a jury trial in 2017. However, that conviction was overturned two years later.

He applied for bail before his first trial, but was denied. He applied again this January and was denied again.

There is no word on when the appeal court might hear Sandeson's case.

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