Kyle Unger acquitted of teen's 1990 slaying

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Kyle Unger (right) and his lawyer Hersh Wolch address the media after Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Glenn Joyal acquitted Unger of Brigitte Grenier's murder in 1990. (KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

WINNIPEG — Justice Minister Dave Chomiak said the province will not pay any compensation to Kyle Unger for the 14 years he spent in prison after he was wrongfully convicted of the brutal murder of a teenage girl.

Chomiak said today a jury convicted Unger of the Grenier slaying largely based on a confession he made to undercover police officers.

"The sad reality of this entire tragedy is that had it not been told to an undercover police officer that he killed Brigette Grenier, even all the other available evidence would not have sent him to jail," Chomiak said.

"Without his confession he would not have been charged . Without the confession he would not have been convicted. Twelve men and women in a jury convicted him."

Chomiak said the decision made by the province to not compensate Unger was based on external legal advice that basically said because the trial jury was aware of all of the evidentiary shortcomings of the case, there was no reason for the province to pay Unger a dime because of how police conducted the Grenier investigation or how the Crown handled the trial.

But the compensation issue for Unger is far from over. Unger’s legal team can still sue the province and RCMP for damages to Unger for spending 14 years behind bars.

Chomiak declined to comment directly on the possibility of the province cutting a cheque to Unger at some future time.

Unger, 38,  walked free from a courtroom Friday morning, seventeen years after he was sent to jail for the murder of 16-year-old Brigitte Grenier, whose strangled and mutilated body was found near a music festival at Roseisle, Man., in June 1990.

Associate Chief Justice Judge Glenn Joyal told Unger he was directing an acquittal for Unger’s first-degree murder conviction.

Unger spent 14 years in prison before a DNA test showed hair comparison evidence used at trial to tie him to the crime was not a match.  In 2005, he was was granted bail. He now lives in Merritt, B.C., although he returned to Winnipeg for Friday's proceedings.

"It’s the first day of my rest of my life, a new beginning," Unger said Friday.

Timothy Houlahan, a 17-year-old acquaintance of Unger’s at the time of Grenier’s death, was also convicted of first-degree murder in connection with Grenier’s death. He committed suicide in 1994 while he was out of jail awaiting a new trial.

No physical evidence linked Unger to the crime, the Crown told court Friday, though physical evidence did link Houlahan to Grenier. Houlahan fingered Unger to Mounties as Grenier’s killer.

Unger was targeted in a sting by undercover RCMP officers, in which he made a confession to killing Grenier in order to gain access to a criminal gang.

He later denied involvement in the death.

Manitoba Justice Assistant Deputy Attorney General Don Slough told court Friday that the Crown and police did not disclose evidence.  Slough was involved in the prosecution of Unger in 1992, along with George Dangerfield. Dangerfield was also involved in the convictions of both James Driskell and Thomas Sophonow, whose murder convictions have also been overturned in cases in which a judge criticized errors made by the Crown.

Among the pieces of evidence Slough said were not submitted to defence counsel were a robbery Houlahan committed three years before the murder in which he broke into a woman’s house, stole her underwear and ripped up her marriage certificate. Slough also said defence counsel was not made aware of a remark Houlahan made to a Mountie speculating whether Unger was indeed responsible for the murder.

"He is entitled to an acquittal," said Slough. "In the eyes of the law, he’s an innocent man."

Hersh Wolch, Unger’s lawyer, said he feels the case is an example of improper procedure by Mounties and by Crown prosecutors.
He said his client deserves a more complete explanation of why he spent years before bars before he was acquitted of "one of the worst cases of tunnel vision."

"An innocent guy went to jail for a long time," he said.

His client deserves compensation for his years spent behind bars, he said. He said he’s particularly concerned about the RCMP undercover operation that elicited a confession from Unger, which is known as a "Mr. Big" operation.

"We do have a historic day but we haven’t learned enough," he said.

gabrielle.giroday@freepress.mb.ca

Wrongful conviction cases and compensation awards

James Driskell, $4 2008
Driskell is paid $4 million for spending 12 years in prison. His murder conviction was quashed in 2005 by then federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler after faulty hair comparison evidence was revealed.

Simon Marshall, 2006
Marshall, a mentally handicapped man, is paid $2.3 million for spending six years behind bars for a series of sexual assaults in a Quebec City suburb. A DNA test cleared Marshall of the crime. Quebec City police officers in charge of the case were cited with breaches of the police code of conduct.

David Milgaard, 1999
Milgaard was awarded $10 million for the 23 years behind bars he spent for the 1969 murder of nurse Gail Miller before. He was exonerated in 1997 and another man was convicted.

Stephen and Marlene Truscott, 2007
Stephen received $6.5 million and his wife Marlene $100,000. He had been convicted of murder at the age of 14 and sentenced to be hanged.

Randy Druken, 2006
Druken received $2.1 million from the Newfoundland government. He had been imprisoned for six years for murder.

Steven Kaminski, 2006
Kaminski was paid $2.2 million from the federal government (RCMP). He had been imprisoned for seven years for sexual assault. This was a civil litigation settlement.

Gordon Folland 2006
Folland was involved with an undisclosed settlement from the Ontario government. He had been sentenced for sexual assault. His conviction was overturned in 1999 after DNA tests identified another man as the perpetrator of the crime. The settlement resulted from civil litigation.

Greg Parsons, 2005
Parsons received $1.3 million from the Newfoundland government. In March 2002 he had been awarded $650,000. He had served 68 days for the murder of his mother. The payment followed an inquiry and civil litigation.

Clayton Johnson, 2004
He was paid $2.5 million from the Nova Scotia government. He had served five years for the murder of his wife after that province’s appeal court acquitted him.

Herman Kaglik, 2001
Kaglik received $1.1million from the federal government. He served four years for rape. He had been in daily prison fights and became divorced. DNA evidence absolved him of sexual assaulting his niece.

Michael McTaggert December, 2000
He received $380,000 from the Ontario government. He had served 20 months for robbery. While he was jailed, robberies continued by the same robber that McTaggert was alleged to have been. The payment resulted from the Supreme Court judgement.

Guy Paul Morin, 1997
He received $1.25 million from the Ontario government. He was convicted as his second trial in 1992 of the October 1984 rape of his nine-year-old next-door neighbour. Improvements in DNA testing led to a test in 1995 which excluded Morin as the murderer.

Richard Norris, 1993
He received $507,000 from the Ontario government. He had served eight months and 10 days for sexual assault. He was acquitted in 1991 after a friend confessed to the crime. The settlement resulted from civil litigation.

Donald Marshall Jr., 1990
He received $1.6 million from the Nova Scotia government. He had served 11 years for a murder he didn’t commit. He was exonerated by the Hickman Commission in 1989.

Thomas Sophonow, 2000
He received $2.6 million from the Manitoba government. He had served 45 months for murder. Winnipeg police cleared him of the crime after another man was identified as the suspect.

Peter Frumusa, 2004
He served eight years for a double murder he did not commit. He was formally exonerated by an Ontario court in 1998.
He obtained a confidential settlement through civil litigation after he sued Niagara Regional Police and the Ontario government for malicious prosecution.

Jason Dix, 2002
Dix received $765,000 from the Alberta government. He had served 22 months for a double murder he didn’t commit. This was a court award for malicious prosecution after Dix sued the Crown and RCMP for malicious prosecution.

Benoit Proulx, 1992
He received $1.6 million from the Quebec government for the 1982 murder of his girlfriend. The payment was ordered by Supreme Court of Canada after the Quebec Court of Appeal quashed his conviction. The court said the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction.