3 convicted of murdering Ryan Lane in child visitation dispute
Meghan Grant | CBC News | Posted: April 20, 2016 9:06 PM | Last Updated: April 21, 2016
1st-degree murder conviction comes with automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years
After deliberating for 14 hours, a Calgary jury has found the three people accused of killing Ryan Lane guilty of first-degree murder.
Sheena Cuthill, her husband, Tim Rempel, and his brother, Wilhelm Rempel, have been on trial for the last 5½ weeks. They were all charged in the kidnapping and killing of Lane, in February 2012 after he started fighting for visitation rights with the daughter he and Cuthill shared.
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The brothers were also found guilty of kidnapping on Wednesday, but Justice Alan Macleod instructed jurors to acquit Cuthill of that charge.
A first-degree murder conviction comes with an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.
The verdict represents closure for the family,according to Crown prosecutor Tom Buglas.
"This was a long and hard, emotional trial for the family," said Buglas.
Some members of Lane's family gasped loudly and cried as the verdicts were read aloud.
None of the three newly convicted showed any emotion as they learned their fate but some of their family members lowered their heads and quietly sobbed.
"I'm disappointed," said Tim Rempel's lawyer, Allan Fay.
"It's always disappointing when a client is found guilty of a crime of this magnitude."
Court heard evidence that Lane, who was 24, was killed after he was kidnapped by the Rempel brothers from a parking lot in the city's northwest. His body was burned in a barrel at a gravel pit near Beiseker, Alta., 70 kilometres northeast of Calgary.
Lane's remains were discovered in the barrel along with his class ring and pieces of his cellphone four months after he disappeared.
"This was one of the most significant CPS investigations I'm aware of," said Buglas. "The police made the decision to keep going and, because of that, we're here today."
Text message conversations about the Rempel brothers confronting Lane began after the first family court mediation session between Cuthill and Lane in November 2011.
Fay indicated he's likely to appeal Tim Rempel's conviction.
Alain Hepner and Jim Lutz, who represent Sheena Cuthill and Wilhelm Rempel respectively, both declined to comment.
A sentencing hearing will take place on Friday, when victim impact statements will be read.