Alberta man accused of family murders refused lie detector, wouldn't give DNA sample
Janice Johnston | CBC News | Posted: October 25, 2017 8:35 PM | Last Updated: October 25, 2017
RCMP had Jason Klaus in their sights early in their homicide investigation.
Mounties believe Gordon, Sandra and Monica Klaus were murdered inside their Castor-area farmhouse, which was then set on fire in December 2013.
Jason Klaus and his friend, Joshua Frank, are now on trial for three counts of first-degree murder and arson.
A month after the deadly fire, RCMP Sgt. Rob Kropp told Klaus he was a suspect.
On the third day of the trial Wednesday, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Eric Macklin was told RCMP began to tap Klaus's phones on Jan. 23, 2014.
By the time RCMP met with Klaus on Feb. 16, he had consulted a lawyer.
Kropp testified the purpose of the meeting was to get Klaus to take a lie detector test.
Klaus, 38, turned him down.
"My lawyer actually recommended me not to," Klaus said. "I'm going to go with him."
The officer told Klaus that police had asked many people to take polygraphs, but he was the first to decline.
"We're putting a lot of people on these polygraph machines," Kropp said. "We have our polygraph guys up here right now. I understand your position, and I respect it. But I don't totally understand it.
"If I were in your shoes, I'd want the truth to be known."
- 'I'm not a cold-blooded killer,' says Jason Klaus, accused of 3 counts of 1st-degree murder
- Accused killer insists his dead family had no enemies
Later in the interview room, Sgt. Dan McCullum, a polygraph expert brought in from Calgary that day to administer the test, explained the procedure to Klaus.
Once again, Klaus refused.
"I still want to talk to my lawyer, but I still want to take it," he said. "If it helps to take me out of the picture, great. I'm just doing what he said."
McCullum asked Klaus what he thought should happen to the person who killed his parents and sister.
"Jail's too good for them," Klaus said. "It's horrifying to think that somebody could do that to someone's family, or innocent people like that."
Klaus left the Stettler detachment that day without being hooked up to the polygraph machine.
To this day, he has not taken a lie detector test.
Request for DNA sample
Kropp and a partner showed up at the Klaus farm unannounced on April 2 to request a voluntary DNA sample.
For the first time, Klaus told them he wasn't willing to speak to police without his lawyer present.
"We have DNA that was found at the scene," Kropp told him. "We were wondering if you would be willing to provide a sample with your consent."
Klaus said he wouldn't do anything without his lawyer.
"Is that a yes or a no?" Kropp asked.
"Well, my lawyer's not here, so that's a no," Klaus replied. "This conversation's over. I would appreciate you calling me first the next time."
The whole interaction lasted seven minutes.
Remains of Sandra Klaus have never been found
Over the dozen or so interviews that Kropp conducted with Klaus, a constant theme was the whereabouts of his mother's remains.
Klaus said he'd been told by lawyers that the RCMP likely had the remains, but were strategically keeping that a secret.
"The truth is, I can't explain why certain people would put certain ideas in your head," Kropp told him. "We don't have and have never had your mom's remains."
On the witness stand Wednesday, Kropp testified he was telling the truth when he said RCMP had not recovered the mother's remains.
The trial continues.