Latest news with #Wetaskiwin
CTV News
10-07-2025
- CTV News
2 teens charged with manslaughter after man's body found following 2024 house fire
A man's body was found after a fatal fire in Wetaskiwin, Alta. on Dec. 15, 2024. (Brandon Lynch/CTV News Edmonton) Police have arrested two people after the body of a man was found in the rubble of a burned house south of Edmonton last year. Emergency crews were called to the fire at 53 Avenue and 45 Street in Wetaskiwin at 5:12 a.m. on Dec. 15, 2024. The body of 67-year-old Westaskiwin resident Donald Robert was found after the flames were extinguished. Robert's death was determined to be suspicious, and after a months-long investigation police arrested a teenage boy and girl on Wednesday. The pair, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, have been charged with manslaughter and arson with disregard for human life. They will appear in court in Wetaskiwin on Thursday.
CBC
08-07-2025
- CBC
Friends, family of central Alberta woman wait for answers after man charged with murder
Nearly six years after a Wetaskiwin woman disappeared without a trace, her loved ones are still waiting for answers. Stan Cross, 49, has now been charged with first-degree murder in the death of 39-year-old Twyla Evans. She was last seen alive on the evening of Sept. 6, 2019, according to information released by the RCMP at the time of her disappearance. Evans's remains have never been found despite what police describe as "exhaustive" efforts. "Investigators, however, continued to pursue all available leads, and recent developments led to the arrest of Stan Cross," Alberta RCMP said in a statement last month. RCMP say they continue to work to "bring Twyla home," but her friend Kelly Campbell told CBC News it's already been a long road to see the investigation progress. "I don't personally understand what took six years," she said. Campbell said she hasn't heard Cross's name before, and she's not sure who he is or how he might have known Evans. The day Evans went missing, she was heading out to go see a movie, but it wasn't clear whether she actually attended, according to police. Her green Jeep Compass was found the next day, parked near a grocery store on the south end of Wetaskiwin, about 70 kilometres south of Edmonton. "There is a general concern for Twyla's well-being," RCMP said in a 2019 statement requesting tips on her whereabouts. There were no further public updates until June 21, 2019, when Mounties announced an arrest in the case, which was investigated by the historical homicide unit. Insp. John Spaans with the Wetaskiwin RCMP said in a statement that it was "a particularly heartbreaking case due to the significant vulnerabilities the victim faced in her daily life." Campbell said that's not how she remembers her friend, who loved driving her Jeep and planning outings with her son — he was a teenager when she went missing. Evans and Campbell saw each other for the last time about two and a half years before Evans disappeared, when Campbell took her up on an offer to go see Canadian rock band USS play a show in Edmonton. "Even though the report said 'vulnerable person,' she's not what we would think of when you hear those terms. She was a regular, average person living her life, paying her bills, doing things she liked — like going to the concerts," Campbell said. "She did not live her life as a vulnerable person." Evans had been experiencing some mental health challenges she was working through, Campbell said. She added her friend had also struggled in the years leading up to her disappearance when she unexpectedly found herself out of a job. But hearing Evans was missing was terrifying, Campbell said, and a shock for her community. "I want people to know that she was a loving mom, and that Twyla did care for the people around her."
CTV News
03-07-2025
- CTV News
2 dead, 3 in critical condition after Canada Day crash near Wetaskiwin
An RCMP cruiser can be seen in this file photo. Two people are dead and three others are in critical condition after a head-on crash near Wetaskiwin on Canada Day. RCMP said the crash between a pickup truck and a small SUV was reported on Highway 2A just south of the city's limits at about 7:30 p.m. Arriving officers pulled two people out the truck before it caught fire, Mounties said, and both were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. A 61-year-old California man and a 64-year-old Wetaskiwin woman from the SUV were found dead at the scene. RCMP said one passenger from the SUV was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. All three people in hospital remained in critical condition on Thursday. RCMP said officers are investigating the role alcohol may have played in the crash.
National Post
27-06-2025
- National Post
Alberta judge facing a complaint after jailing a pregnant woman who showed up late for court
A central Alberta judge is facing a judicial complaint after jailing a pregnant woman who showed up late for court. Article content Earlier this month, Edmonton defence lawyer Samantha Labahn asked the Alberta Judicial Council to review the actions of Justice Gordon Hatch, a Court of Justice judge in the court's central region. Article content At issue is Hatch's decision to briefly jail Labahn's client, Cinda Doyle, who arrived late to her preliminary inquiry earlier this year on charges of income assistance fraud. Doyle was 36 weeks pregnant and intended to arrive on time but relied on others for rides to the Wetaskiwin courthouse, Labahn said. Article content Article content Doyle arrived a few minutes after Hatch issued a warrant for her arrest. While Hatch ultimately re-released her, he did so only after the day's proceedings, over protests from the defence. Article content Article content Labahn called Hatch's actions 'punitive' and 'vindictive,' and suggested they were part of a pattern among certain central Alberta judges that includes last year's controversial jailing of an Edmonton defence lawyer. Article content '(My client) is a very vulnerable person, not even including the fact that she's extremely pregnant,' she said. 'This is somebody who is not financially independent. This is somebody with addiction issues.' Article content 'She just has barriers, which a lot of people in Wetaskiwin and around those areas have, and (Hatch) knows that, which is why it's particularly jarring.' Article content Article content The Crown withdrew charges against Doyle the following month. Article content Article content Doyle was charged with defrauding more than $5,000 from income assistance programs between 2018 and 2021. She faced a preliminary hearing on the allegations in Wetaskiwin last Feb. 10-11. Article content By Hatch's estimate, Doyle was around an hour late on the first day of the hearing. She apologized and blamed snowy road conditions. Doyle was also a minute late, by Labahn's estimate, when court resumed after a break. Hatch warned Doyle twice, telling her she could be detained for arriving late. Article content The next morning, Hatch opened court around 9:30 a.m. and issued an arrest warrant after determining Doyle was not in the courthouse. Article content 'If she arrives in the next 15 minutes, she is to be taken into custody, and we will continue the preliminary inquiry in that fashion,' Hatch told a sheriff, calling Doyle an 'absconding accused.' Article content Doyle arrived around 9:42 a.m., Labahn said, upset and afraid she would be sent to the remand centre. Prior to Doyle's arrival, Labahn and the Crown prosecutor agreed she could be re-released under the same conditions, but Hatch refused to hear the application until after the day's proceedings. Hatch said Doyle 'chose' to be late, and gave no indication he would ultimately agree to release her.
National Post
27-06-2025
- National Post
Alberta judge facing a complaint after jailing a pregnant woman who showed up late for court.
A central Alberta judge is facing a judicial complaint after jailing a pregnant woman who showed up late for court. Article content Earlier this month, Edmonton defence lawyer Samantha Labahn asked the Alberta Judicial Council to review the actions of Justice Gordon Hatch, a Court of Justice judge in the court's central region. Article content At issue is Hatch's decision to briefly jail Labahn's client, Cinda Doyle, who arrived late to her preliminary inquiry earlier this year on charges of income assistance fraud. Doyle was 36 weeks pregnant and intended to arrive on time but relied on others for rides to the Wetaskiwin courthouse, Labahn said. Article content Article content Doyle arrived a few minutes after Hatch issued a warrant for her arrest. While Hatch ultimately re-released her, he did so only after the day's proceedings, over protests from the defence. Article content Article content Labahn called Hatch's actions 'punitive' and 'vindictive,' and suggested they were part of a pattern among certain central Alberta judges that includes last year's controversial jailing of an Edmonton defence lawyer. Article content '(My client) is a very vulnerable person, not even including the fact that she's extremely pregnant,' she said. 'This is somebody who is not financially independent. This is somebody with addiction issues.' Article content 'She just has barriers, which a lot of people in Wetaskiwin and around those areas have, and (Hatch) knows that, which is why it's particularly jarring.' Article content Article content The Crown withdrew charges against Doyle the following month. Article content Article content Doyle was charged with defrauding more than $5,000 from income assistance programs between 2018 and 2021. She faced a preliminary hearing on the allegations in Wetaskiwin last Feb. 10-11. Article content By Hatch's estimate, Doyle was around an hour late on the first day of the hearing. She apologized and blamed snowy road conditions. Doyle was also a minute late, by Labahn's estimate, when court resumed after a break. Hatch warned Doyle twice, telling her she could be detained for arriving late. Article content The next morning, Hatch opened court around 9:30 a.m. and issued an arrest warrant after determining Doyle was not in the courthouse. Article content 'If she arrives in the next 15 minutes, she is to be taken into custody, and we will continue the preliminary inquiry in that fashion,' Hatch told a sheriff, calling Doyle an 'absconding accused.' Article content Doyle arrived around 9:42 a.m., Labahn said, upset and afraid she would be sent to the remand centre. Prior to Doyle's arrival, Labahn and the Crown prosecutor agreed she could be re-released under the same conditions, but Hatch refused to hear the application until after the day's proceedings. Hatch said Doyle 'chose' to be late, and gave no indication he would ultimately agree to release her.
