Man charged in death of Carol King will plead not guilty: lawyer
Devin Heroux | CBC News | Posted: July 20, 2016 11:30 AM | Last Updated: July 20, 2016
Sask. homicide victim Carol King was afraid of ex-boyfriend before she disappeared, family says
Charged in the killing of Carol King, David Caissie, a former boyfriend, wearing a leather vest and a button-up shirt, made a very brief court appearance in a Saskatoon court today.
He's been under a cloud for some five years. - Ron Piché
The body of the former Newfoundland woman was found at a rural property in the Herschel area in 2011. King had been missing for three weeks.
Caissie is charged with first-degree murder and indignity to human remains. He was arrested earlier this week near Saskatoon.
A reporter described Caissie's demeanour in court today as forthright. When the Crown asked for a no-contact order with a long list of people Caissie simply replied, "No problem."
Outside the court, Caissie's lawyer Ron Piché vowed that his client will plead not guilty.
Piché reporters that Caissie has been under intense pressure by police.
"He's been under a cloud for some five years," said Piché. "Police spared no efforts in trying to pursue him."
"He was providing police with information they wanted. People who don't cooperate are usually seen as very suspicious. And that's not Mr. Caissie."
Piché said that his priority right now, is to secure Caissie's release as he awaits trial. Cassie is due to appear in court on August 3rd by video.
King feared for her safety
Carol King, the western Newfoundland woman who was found dead in rural Saskatchewan in August 2011, was worried about her personal safety in the days leading up to her disappearance, friends and family members say.
King's ex-boyfriend, 53-year-old David Caissie, was arrested near Saskatoon Tuesday morning and has been charged with first-degree murder and committing an indignity to human remains.
King, 40, was last seen alive on Aug. 6 in Herschel, Sask., about 150 kilometres southwest of Saskatoon. Her vehicle was found Aug. 10 in a slough, and her body was discovered weeks later on a rural property near that same area.
Caissie made his first court appearance in Saskatoon's Provincial Court this morning. He was remanded into custody and is expected to appear in court again tomorrow by video.
Timeline of events
- April 2011: Carol King and David Caissie split after a four-year relationship.
- Aug. 6, 2011: King reported missing.
- Aug. 10, 2011: King's vehicle is found in slough near Herschel, Sask.
- Aug. 27, 2011: King's body found by local residents in a wooded area six kilometres from where vehicle was located.
- Dec. 18, 2011: King's former home set on fire, resulting in extensive damage.
- Dec. 20, 2011: Mysterious makeshift memorial with a cryptic message appears where King's body was found.
- Dec. 21, 2011: David Caissie declares innocence in interview with CBC News.
- July 19, 2016: RCMP arrest and charge Caissie with first-degree murder and offering indignity to human remains.
Family was concerned
King moved to Herschel about three years prior to her death but remained in constant contact with her family in Newfoundland.
Her mother, Yvonne King, told CBC News in 2011 that her daughter had shared with her concerns about some unusual nighttime activity around her home in the days prior to her disappearance.
On one night, Yvonne King said her daughter believed two mysterious men were prowling around her property. The same thing happened on the night before King disappeared. She told her mother she did not know who they were.
"There was a man, the shape of a man bent down by the trees," Yvonne King told CBC News. "And she chased him with her flashlight and said, 'Get off my property.'"
Went to report to police
King said her daughter decided to report what happened to police.
She said she spoke to her daughter on Aug. 6 and was told she had an appointment to meet police later that day.
However, she never made it to the appointment.
"I said, 'Carol you can't take care of yourself if someone grabs you'," her mother said of a warning she gave her daughter. "I said, 'There's crazy people out there sometimes.' And I was right."
On Facebook, one of King's sisters had posted written comments, purportedly from King, that were made about a week prior to her disappearance.
The comments expressed frustration about how police in Saskatchewan had handled an earlier complaint King had made about the behaviour of Caissie.
According to the sister, King wrote: "Holy crap, if he ever decided he wanted to hurt me, I'd be dead before the cops responded."
CBC News is not aware of any evidence that Caissie had threatened King. In an interview with CBC News in 2011, Caissie said the allegations were not true. He said King was never afraid of him.
Caissie not a suspect, police said
During their initial investigation police said they had talked to Cassie but he was not a suspect at that time.
In December 2011, Caissie declared his innocence in an interview with CBC.
"I want them to find out who did this ... so that people will know that I had nothing to do with it," Caissie said at the time.
Caissie was sentenced to five years in prison for a violent sexual assault that took place in 1998. He forced a woman into her truck at knife point, drove to a rural location and sexually assaulted her on the hood of the vehicle.
CBC News asked Caissie about the conviction and he responded by saying, "What's that got to do with anything?"
Caissie also said he did not harm King and was working in Alberta at the time of her disappearance, adding that two co-workers could confirm that.
He also said he had talked to King the day she disappeared.
Mysterious makeshift memorial made for King
An unusual memorial to King appeared on the property where she died in December 2011.
A headstone, makeshift cross, flowers and mysterious message were on display near the spot where her body was discovered after a missing-person search in the Herschel area.
The message says, "Please don't give him your HATE, he's not WORTH it. The Lord he cam [sic] and got me, and took me far away. Remember, I wasn't in my body when the DEVIL came to play. WHY?"
There was no explanation at the site about who placed the memorial on the rural property, or when it was left.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Murray Chamberlain said they still have no information about who made the memorial and who left the note.
King's former home burned
Around the same time the makeshift memorial appeared on the property where King died, her former home was set on fire.
In December 2011, the home where King lived was burned in a fire which police believed was lit by an arsonist. To this day, police have made no arrests.
RCMP also say in 2009 her home was burned but that it was accidental. In 2010 a trailer owned by King was also burned and it was deemed an arson but no charges were ever laid.
Corrections:- An incorrect photo of the accused was provided to CBC by police. It has been removed from this story. July 22, 2016 7:40 PM