Judge hears final arguments in trial of Regina man accused of killing brother 25 years ago

Warning: this story contains graphic descriptions of violence.

The murder trial of Joseph Thauberger wrapped up with closing arguments Wednesday at the Court of King's Bench in Regina.

Thauberger, 80, sat through the arguments in a wheelchair, often with his head resting on his hands or legs.

Thauberger is charged with the first-degree murder of his brother Patrick Cyril Thauberger on Sept. 3, 1997, and offering an indignity to human remains. Patrick died at 2721 Francis St. in Regina, where Joseph lived at the time. 

Thauberger pleaded not guilty to both charges in March.

Over the course of the trial, the Crown argued that Thauberger killed his brother due to a disagreement over the sale of farmland.

Thauberger said his brother died after falling down the stairs, calling it an accident. 

A cold case

Regina police confirmed in June 2021 that human remains found in rural Saskatchewan in December 2020 were those of 53-year-old Patrick, whose disappearance was deemed a cold case for more than two decades. 

According to the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police missing persons database, Patrick was last seen at the bus depot in Regina.

The database says Patrick was travelling by bus from Winnipeg to Edmonton when he stopped in Regina to visit relatives. He never arrived in Edmonton. 

A Regina Police Service sting operation that eventually led to the charge against Thauberger began with an undercover officer posing as a man who had something in common with him. 

According to the Crown, after the two men developed trust between them, Thauberger told the undercover officer that he had killed his brother Patrick and then buried him on farmland. The two later drove out to the land and Joseph pointed out the spot where he said his brother was. 

Defence's closing arguments

On Wednesday, Thauberger's lawyer Tyne Hagey argued that the trial testimony of Barbara Hayes, who was Thauberger's wife at the time of Patrick's death, had to be weighed carefully.

The lawyer did not say she was unreliable, but that even though she was in the house at the time of Patrick's death she did not actually witness the event and that her memory was spotty. The defence argued that Hayes also only remembered things that would make Thauberger culpable of the crime.

"These are issues that are concerning," Hagey said. 

The defence also said that there is little physical evidence to corroborate the incident, including how Patrick died, whether from strangulation or from a fall down stairs. There was only testimony. Hagey therefore claimed there is reasonable doubt in the Crown's case.

She also urged the judge to give little weight to Thauberger's confession in the sting operation. She argued the technique and its admissibility as evidence in court has led to wrongful convictions.

Crown's closing arguments

Crown prosecutor Andrew Campbell argued that Hayes's testimony was reliable. He said Thauberger, however, was not a credible or reliable witness while on the stand.

"It often appeared that the accused would make up answers on the stand," said Campbell. "When the accused was challenged he would change his previous testimony to make himself look better."

He reiterated to the court that Hayes said Patrick came to Thauberger's house to have a meeting with him surrounding the sale of farmland. Hayes testified that there were issues between the accused and his brother prior to that day.

"She spoke freely and expressed appropriate fear given what she had seen there," Campbell said.

"She was detailed in her evidence despite the passage of time, providing evidence that was consistent and corroborated by the accused. [It] made sense and flowed from one detail to the next. Her memory was challenged. But unlike the accused, she never contradicted herself."

Campbell stressed the part of Hayes's testimony where she recalled what Thauberger said following Patrick's death.

"Barbara testified that at some point after Patrick's death, she asked the accused how he could do what he did. How could he have killed his brother?" Campbell said.

"The accused answer wasn't [that] it was an accident or Patrick fell down the stairs.… Quite the opposite. Barbara testified that he pounded his chest and answered: 'I'm proud of what I did. I put down a sick dog.'"

Campbell also went on to say that the confession Thauberger gave to the undercover cop in 2020 is reliable. 

"He confessed to striking Patrick in the head multiple times with a hammer and strangling him to death for five minutes with a rope," Campbell said.

Court of King's Bench Justice Janet McMurtry is scheduled to return with a verdict on July 27 at 2 p.m. CST.