The Criminal Trials

CURRENT STATUS
(The current status of all those involved in the murder. A complete legal chronology follows the current status)

Latest Updates are available following each description below.

The Youth (mastermind of the murder)

This trial lasted 0/24/05 – 04/06/06 – 5 ½ months long! Declared Not Guilty by a judge only, no jury on technicalities.

He spent 32 months in Manitoba Youth Centre. Three prior judges refused to grant bail as he was a danger to society, however Justice Joan McKelvey watched all the confession videos for the three others that all pinned him as the mastermind and decided to throw it all out as evidence, and declared him not guilty. When you read the McKelvey Decision, one realizes that she worked very, very hard to acquit him. If you read the actual video taped statements of the other three accused, you soon realize that she chose to ignore everything that made him look guilty.

The Crown told us, “She has the legal right to be wrong.”

Update:

There are no updates on this youth, other than that he has changed his name and disappeared. IMPORTANT: Both Anthony Pulsifer and Chad Handsor have said during their parole hearings, that they lied about this youth on the stand. Because of their lies, the judge in the youth’s case, threw out the evidence proving the involvement of the youth. Now they have admitted they lied. However, it is too late. I immediately called the crown attorney after they said this at their parole hearings, but he said that it was too late. The most that could happen is that these two could be charged with perjury.

Dominic Urichen

Dominic Urichen was sentenced to 12 years for Conspiracy to Commit Murder, 1 year for Contempt by Witness and 6 months for Obstruct Justice for a total of 13.5 years. Parole Ends: September 30, 2016 - Then, there is no control over him.

RELEASED FROM JAIL: After almost 10 years, he was being released from jail on March 27, 2013, because of the statutory release act which states he cannot serve more than 2/3rd of his sentence. They actually can keep him longer with a “Detention Order” but they have chosen not to. What they did however, was send him to a community residential facility in Kelowna BC, until September 30, 2016. This act of keeping him in a community residential facility is very rare. The vast majority of statutory released inmates just live at home, but he needs to be watched. Detentions are covered under Section 129 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA).

Here are the entire release papers Urichin Parole Papers.

In his youth, Urichen was a “dangerous youth”, and had many criminal incidents including tying up with duct tape and forcibly confining an 83 year old woman, robbing her, and causing serious psychological trauma.

He was diagnosed with having trouble interacting with others, and has difficulty controlling impulses. He shows total indifference towards the killing of TJ and feels no responsibility whatsoever. At his earlier parole hearing which was DENIED on May 5, 2010 and when asked why he should be released, Urichen stated, “I know I set up the murder, but I didn’t kill the guy, so why am I even here?” That denial is HERE: Dominic Urichen Parole.

He was assessed as a medium risk to re-offend generally and a “HIGH risk to re-offend violently”. “His difficulties with a thought disorder (Paranoid Schizophrenia) were clearly present. He achieved extremely high scores in areas of persecutory ideas and thinking difficulties suggesting he experienced paranoid thinking and has struggles with identifying realty. The psychological testing results clearly suggests an individual who is experiencing significant mental health issues which likely will have a major impact on his behaviour in the community”

He has refused recently all urine drug testing and found recently in possession of drugs in prison.

He has no solid understanding of his offense cycle, no remorse, and no long term goals. He is an undue risk to society and will probably commit a violent offense upon release.

NOTE: He has current “hallucinations to stab others”.

He has no understanding of how to reduce the risks to stop violent behaviour.

For 10 years, Urichen went back and forth every few months between the Saskatoon Regional Psychiatric Centre, SK, and the Saskatchewan Penitentiary, in Prince Albert, SK. He was diagnosed as having “antisocial personality disorder and paranoid schizophrenia” a few months prior to sentencing, and has had psychotic issues throughout his incarceration. His last transfer out of the psychiatric unit was just March 8, 2013, just in time to be released to the public.

CLICK THIS to see the program he has done since he was in jail as well as his disciplinary offenses.

Update:

Dominic Urichen was finally released in October 2016. Having fulfilled his entire sentence, he has no conditions for release. However, if he should offend again for anything that will earn him a federal sentence, (something where he will be sentenced to more than 2 years) I will again be notified and will resume my rights as a victim, to information about him.

Anthony Pulsifer

December, 2012 - Transferred back to Grande Cache Institution, Medium Security, from Edmonton Institution, AB – Maximum Security. He has been back and forth from Maximum to Medium security.

Serving a life sentence minimum 15 years before parole eligibility.

Unescorted Temporary Absences & Day Parole Eligibility: February 5, 2015

Legislated Full Parole Eligibility: February 5, 2018

He will be on parole till he dies.

CLICK THIS to see the program he has done since he was in jail as well as his disciplinary offenses.

Update:

Anthony Pulsifer is currently serving his sentence in a minimum-security prison outside of Victoria, BC. He has not achieved any formal freedoms, which would start with escorted temporary absences. We have attended 2 parole hearings for him, of which he has failed both times.

Chad Handsor

April 2015 transferred to:

Mission Institution (Medium Security)

Mission, BC

Serving a life sentence minimum 15 years

before parole eligibility.

Appeal denied here: Handsor Appeal

February 17, 2014 - Requests Escorted Temporary Absences (ETA’s) for Community Service, Personal Development, Administrative and Family Contact.

The CSC asked us our opinion which is HERE.

Unescorted Temporary Absences &

Day Parole Eligibility: March 7, 2015.

Legislated Full Parole Eligibility:

March 7, 2018

He will be on parole till he dies.

Chad Handsor has been transferred between several institutions including

psychiatric institutions.

In Nov/12, was transferred (Transfer Notification) from William Head Minimum security (Club Fed) on an emergency INVOLUNTARY transfer to Mountain Institution. What he did we will never know.

In Sept/13, was transferred to Regional Treatment Centre Psychiatric Treatment Centre in Abbotsford, BC

In Oct/13, was transferred to Mission Institution, Mission, BC a medium security.

In Mar/14, was transferred Kwìkwèxwelhp Healing Village, Harrison Mills, British Columbia, a Minimum security prison.

CLICK THIS to see the program he has done since he was in jail as well as his disciplinary offences.

This is the William Head Minimum security in Victoria, BC, an amazing piece of property surrounded by the ocean. But he didn’t last long, only 11 months.

Update:

Chad Handsor is currently serving his sentence at a half-way house in BC. He has achieved day parole, and is on his way to full parole. He will never be allowed to come back to Manitoba or have any contact with us.

Trista Hildebrand

Although she claimed to be TJ’s best friend, she betrayed TJ beyond belief. She was not charged with murder, however she was there during the entire planning of the murder, and did nothing to stop the murder. The day TJ was killed, TJ asked her if he was being set up. She lied to him and said no, that everything was fine. She was used as a witness against the four murderers, but lied on the stand at every question or chose not to remember.

LEGAL CHRONOLOGY

1/5/03 - T.J. was murdered in St. Adolphe.

1/7/03 - T.J. was reported missing to The Winnipeg Police Service.

1/21/03 - Police went public with missing person's report to TV, radio & newspapers.

1/24/03 - Homicide department took over investigation after information came in over the weekend after the public notification.

2/5/03 - Chad Handsor, 19 & Anthony Pulsifer, 20 were picked up in Calgary by seven police officers and flown back to Winnipeg on 2/7/03. THE ARREST is here.

2/7/03 - Winnipeg Police informed us that Chad Handsor & Anthony Pulsifer had been charged with 1st Degree Murder. Several weeks later they were charged with Conspiracy to Commit Murder. The two accused, in individual cruisers led police to the approximate area of TJ’s body.

2/8/03 - Five weeks passed before Police informed us they found T.J.’s body along a private farm road in St. Adolphe covered by several feet of snow. Several officers went out in unison and Sgt. James Jewell, found our son.

2/12/03 - Police finally removed his frozen body from the murder scene (an army tent and heaters had to be erected before he could be removed) and transferred him to Health Sciences Centre.

2/22/03 - T.J.'s Memorial Service with over 1,000 people attending was held at Grant Memorial Baptist Church. The T.J. Wiebe Educational Awareness Fund was also announced. (Later to become the TJ’s Gift Foundation Inc.)

7/12/03 - Dominic Urichen, 19, was arrested in Regina’s Paul Dojack Youth Centre by Winnipeg Police. Dominic was charged with 1st Degree Murder as well as Conspiracy to Commit Murder. The police then went to Headingly Jail and re-arrested Handsor & Pulsifer with the additional charge of Conspiracy to Commit Murder. The WPS did not publish a media release.

8/16/03 - An 18 year old was charged in Winnipeg with 1st Degree Murder as well as Conspiracy to Commit Murder. THE ARREST is here. The police tell us he had a hit list to murder 7 people.

9/6/03 - Dedication of TJ's Memorial Garden and ballon release at Booster Lake with over 100 people attending.

11/12/03 - Preliminary hearing starts for Handsor, Pulsifer and Urichen.

11/27/03 - Preliminary hearing ends. All 3 adults are committed to trial on both criminal charges.

10/10/03 - Youth applies for bail.

02/12/04 - Youth is denied bail by Judge Tim Preston. The judge went through all the evidence, and pointed out how he had a hit list, that there is other evidence as well in the cell phone records between the accused and Pulsifer and Handsor DURING the murder, that there are two conspiracy to commit murder charges and that there are secondary ground concerns that indicate that the accused enlisted people to kill, that he provided the knife and the syringe, that he took part in a cold-blooded plan and participated in the murder and aftermath, that he told Handsor to kill Pulsifer, as Pulsifer was telling others of the murder, that Urichen says that he fears the accused, that the accused bugged Urichen to find out where Pulsifer was afterwards, so he could kill him, that Handsor felt threatened by the accused, that he spoke of a hit list, that Handsor said that the accused had threatened to murder his son, that Pulsifer said that both Dominic and the accused scared him, that Pulsifer said that the accused threatened his mom and daughter.

Judge Preston stated that while the mother has a bail plan for the accused, “I have no confidence in the accused willingness to obey any bail conditions, and when he is not under the custody of a parent, he represents a danger to the public, and as such, I deny him bail.”

03/15/04 - Youth appeals his denied bail.

03/19/04 - Youth is denied bail again, by Appeal Court Judge Brenda Keyser. Judge Brenda Keyser kept him in jail, and stated that this was a very strong case, that it was an egregious act, that in fact it was an execution, that he supplied the weapons of death, received drugs afterward, bleached the murder weapon, etc. She also stated that although his parents were upstanding citizens in the community, they had no control over him at 17 and it was expected that they will not have control over him now at 19.

11/01/04 - Youth's Preliminary hearing starts. The dates are set as follows: November 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 15, 16, 18, 19, 23, December 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17.

12/15/04 - Dates for the Youth’s Preliminary hearing changed almost everyday throughout the trial. We now spent Nov. 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 15, 16, 18, 19, December 6, 7, and 16th in court. The judge’s decision as to send the evidence from the preliminary hearing through to trial is expected December 16th.

12/16/04 - Judge Lynn Stannard commits Youth to trial on 1st Degree Murder and Conspiracy to Commit Murder.

02/24/05 - Jury Selection for 3 Adults Trial

02/28/05 - 03/24/05 - 3 Adults Trial was supposed to start - Judge Perry Schulman

02/28/05 - Judge Perry Schulman decides with defence council’s motion to cancel this trial completely and make 3 separate trials, with 3 separate juries and 3 separate judges. (We were never told by the Crown that this was even a possibility. We are devastated with this news. From what we know, no other trial has resulted with 4 trials and 2 preliminary trials. It’s unprecedented in Manitoba, and even the reporters are shocked.)

3/01/05 - Judge Perry Schulman decides that Anthony Pulsifer's Trial is to continue on its own, keeping the original jury that was selected.

03/01/05 - 03/24/05

JURY TRIAL: - Anthony Pulsifer - This trial ended early on March 18th with a verdict of GUILTY of Conspiracy to Commit Murder & GUILTY of 2nd Degree Murder. The jury recommended his parole eligibility to a minimum of 15 years starting from the guilty verdict. He has spent 2 years and 7 weeks in jail. So, in effect they recommended a minimum of 17 years and 7 weeks. We are, as is everyone else around us, confused as to how the jury arrived at 2nd Degree if they found him GUILTY of Conspiracy which denotes planning.

3/24/05 - Judge Perry Schulman ignores the jury's recommendation of parole eligibility and lowered it by two years. Anthony Pulsifer is sentenced to 15 years for Conspiracy to Commit Murder & also sentenced to Life Imprisonment for 2nd Degree Murder eligible for parole in 15 years vs the minimum of 10. Both sentences are to run concurrently; meaning at the same time. He is now eligible for parole in 15 years from date of his arrest, which will be March 5, 2018. He is eligible for Day Parole 3 years earlier, on March 5, 2015.

4/27/05 - Anthony Pulsifer appeals his conviction and sentence. This will go in front of a panel of 3 judges.

5/13/05 - Our family sues all four accused with a civil lawsuit for murdering TJ. (Wrongful Death Act)

6/08/05 - Youth changes his mind and elects to be tried before a judge only, not a jury.

10/24/05 – 04/06/06 – 5 ½ months long!

JUDGE ONLY TRIAL (Justice Joan McKelvey) for the Youth

2005: October 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 November 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 16, 17, 18, 28, 29, 30 December 1, 5, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 21

2006: January 27, February 13, 15, 16.

02/06/06 – 03/02/06

JURY TRIAL: Dominic Urichen (Justice Lea Duval) – On 03-02-06 – a jury said that Urichen is GUILTY of CONSPIRACY but the jury is DEADLOCKED on 1st Degree Murder.

03/14/06 – The Chad Handsor jury trial that was scheduled for 03/06/06 – 03/31/06 was cancelled as Handsor pleads GUILTY to 2nd Degree Murder in a plea bargain. Sentencing will be June 27, 2006.

03/31/06 - Justice Lea Duval sentenced Dominic Urichen to 12 years in prison for Conspiracy to commit murder.

04/06/06 – After 7 weeks of deliberation, Justice Joan McKelvey acquits the youth completely. A jury has to decide right away, but she can do whatever she wants. She enters the courtroom, decries the verdict, and does not read her reasons why and exits the courtroom in one minute. The youth is acquitted, yet all 3 co-accused are convicted in some form or other.

04/12/06 – The Crown Attorney makes a decision not to re-try Dominic Urichen for 1st Degree Murder.

05/03/06 – The Crown Attorney makes a decision not to appeal Justice McKelvey’s acquittal of the youth. While we are disappointed, he does spend 32 months in jail, which is more than many murderers in this country.

05/26/06 – Dominic Urichen is sentenced to 1 more year in jail for Obstruction of Justice for refusing to testify against Anthony Pulsifer by the same judge that let the mastermind 17 year old off... saying, "Compliance of the law isn't optional. And there will be consequences for failing to testify," Queen's Bench Justice Joan McKelvey said”. Too bad she didn’t think of the consequences that his refusal helped her decide to let the mastermind off! He is also sentenced to 6 months in jail for Obstruction of Justice by a different judge for refusing to testify against the youth. This additional 1½ years will be served consecutively to the 12 years he received for Conspiracy. 13.5 years in total.

06/22/06 – The Manitoba Court of Appeal dismissed Anthony Pulsifer’s appeal of his 2nd Degree Murder charges as well as Conspiracy. The court did not even ask for submissions from the Crown, as there was no merit to the appeal.

06/27/06 – Chad Handsor was sentenced to spend at least 15 years in prison before he can apply for parole. He had plead guilty to 2nd Degree Murder in a plea bargain that did not include a bargained for sentence.

10/24/06 – Dominic Urichen decides not to appeal his 12 year sentence for Conspiracy. His total sentence is 13.5 years for all charges combined, including “double time”. He told his lawyer, “I just want to do my time.”

11/06/06 – Chad Handsor is appealing his sentence of 15 years minimum to Life sentence for Murder.

02/08/07 – The Manitoba Court of Appeal dismissed Chad Handsor’s appeal of his minimum 15 year sentence.

04/17/07 – Chad Handsor was flown to Winnipeg from the Saskatchewan Penitentiary to plead guilty to Obstruct Justice. He refused to testify against the youth, and of course, this helped the youth get away with 1st Degree Murder. For refusing to testify, he received 3 months concurrent to his sentence. That means no additional time.

This is the end of the court process.

All appeals have been exhausted.

The only thing now is the endless lifetime

of parole board applications.