Verdict reserved in murder-for-hire case

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There is no doubt Ivan Radocaj was the victim of a sadistic murder-for-hire plot that was executed with ruthless precision inside his Interlake home.

The only question that remains is whether Rita Cushnie was involved.

Crown and defence lawyers presented vastly different theories on Friday as they wrapped up a high-profile case. Cushnie, 59, has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree murder, which is the most serious charge in the Criminal Code.

Queen’s Bench Justice Sadie Bond has reserved her verdict until later this year.

“This story is one of pure evil,” defence lawyer Mike Cook said in his closing arguments. But he insisted there is, at bare minimum, a reasonable doubt Cushnie was involved.

“We don’t convict people on suspicious evidence,” he argued. He reminded Bond she can’t convict even if she thinks Cushnie “might or even probably” was involved.

Four people have already been convicted of their roles in the 2007 attack that killed Radocaj, a former pro wrestler known as the Croatian Giant.

Melody Sanford, the victim’s wife, and Donald Richard, Cushnie’s son, were found guilty of first-degree murder following trials. Christopher Houle and Daniel Richard, Cushnie’s nephew, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. All four are serving life sentences.

The Crown is now seeking to make Cushnie the fifth and final accused to go down.

“There are inconsistencies within her own answers. A lot of backtracking, a lot of inconsistencies,” prosecutor Mark Kantor told court Friday. “She’s getting tripped up on her own lies.”

He urged Bond to trust the evidence provided at trial from several of the co-accused who suggested Cushnie was fully aware of what was happening and even helped “coax” her own son into the plot.

But Cook said their testimony should be dismissed, especially that of Sanford.

“She is a greedy killer who wanted her slain husband’s estate — the husband she caused to be slain,” said Cook. “Miss Sanford is an expert liar, to the point of being pathological.”

Cushnie took the witness stand in her own defence earlier this week, insisting she was kept in the dark while her friends and family members plotted Radocaj’s demise.

Radocaj, 43, was beaten to death only weeks after he married Sanford. He filed documents just weeks before his death in August 2007, claiming Sanford “tricked” him into a fraudulent wedding because she was after his money. He also expressed fears she and others may try to hurt him.

Cushnie described in court how she hosted several gatherings at her home in the summer of 2007 where she saw Sanford engaged in conversations with the other people who would ultimately be charged and convicted. But Cushnie insists she was more focused on serving her guests food and alcohol than on what they were talking about.

She admits allowing Sanford to stay at her place when the woman began complaining Radocaj was being physically and emotionally abusive. Cushnie said Sanford was also claiming Radocaj had abused her daughter from another marriage.

Cushnie admits opening a bank account under her name in which Sanford deposited $6,500. The Crown has alleged that forms part of the murder conspiracy. Cushnie insists she was just allowing her friend to hide money from Radocaj.

Cushnie told court she saw her son and Sanford kissing in the hours after Radocaj had died but before she claims she knew it had happened. She believed the pair had actually started to form a romantic relationship, not that they were celebrating a murder.

Cook also asked why Cushnie repeatedly called her son a “bad, bad boy,” including shortly after Radocaj was killed. Cushnie said that’s always been her nickname for him, based on a song they both like by Nazareth.

She admitted seeing Sanford burning a bag of items she later learned contained evidence of the murder — but claims she had no idea what was inside it.

Cushnie was previously found guilty, only to have the verdict overturned on appeal based on errors made by the judge in linking some of the evidence against her to the co-accused.

www.mikeoncrime.com