Convicted murderer Brian Malley will have his appeal heard today after it was adjourned this past spring.
Malley, 57, who is appealing his conviction, was to have his appeal spoken to in the Alberta Court of Appeals on May 4th. It was initially scheduled for last fall and was put over to Jan. 6th before being adjourned to last May and rescheduled for Sept. 14th.
On Feb. 24th, 2015 he was found guilty of first-degree murder, causing an explosion of an explosive substance likely to cause serious bodily harm, death or serious damage to property and sending or delivering to a person an explosive device in relation to the death of Victoria Shachtay in 2011.
Malley was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years – an automatic sentence for a first-degree murder conviction. He was also sentenced to serve four years concurrently with the life sentence for the explosive charges he was convicted of – two years for each charge.
Meanwhile, Malley’s charges stem after an explosion occurred inside Shachtay’s Innisfail residence in November 2011. The incident occurred after a package disguised as a Christmas gift was delivered to the home which RCMP confirmed was the source of the explosion.
Malley was arrested in Red Deer on May 25th, 2012. Shachtay, 23, was disabled and in a wheelchair from a car collision that happened in 2004. She was also a single mother to a then seven-year-old girl.
Investigation showed Malley had known Shachtay for a number of years and acted as her financial adviser. Shachtay received a settlement of $575,000 after her accident. A $200,000 loan was also taken out on behalf of Shachtay. All of that money was gone within four years. Malley also supported her from his own personal account in the amount of $44,000. During the course of the six-week long trial, 50 witnesses testified and 100 exhibits were entered.
After the verdict was handed down former Crown Prosecutor Anders Quist said this case was one of the most cold-blooded that he has ever encountered. “The evidence shows him having worked on this bomb from July of 2011 to Nov. 25th of 2011. To carefully and methodically put those pieces together over that time with the intent to kill – that is pretty cold.”
efawcett@reddeerexpress.com
