By Bryn Levy

Saskatoon murder trial comes to an end with conviction

Dec 18, 2014 | 6:20 AM

Daleen Bosse’s family members got their chance on Wednesday to speak about how the death of the 25-year-old mother and student ripped their lives apart.

The victim impact statements came after Douglas Hales was convicted of the second-degree murder of Bosse, along with the crime of offering an indignity to her remains by burning her body. 

Bosse went missing in 2004.  It took undercover RCMP officers three months to get a confession from Hales using what’s known as a ‘Mr. Big’ sting. In the sting, officers posed as criminals trying to recruit Hales, leading him to confess to them in the belief they could help him cover up the crime.   

One after the other, family and friends described the pain of spending four years searching over countless hours and spending thousands of dollars only to get the call in 2008 that Bosse’s body had been found burnt in an abandoned dumpsite near Martensville.

Bosse’s mother, Pauline Muskego, had her statement read into the record by another supporter.  In that statement, she called down the media covering the trial, saying that the coverage had added to the family’s pain as details of the murder were published.  She expressed her disappointment that a request from the family for a publication ban wasn’t honoured at the start of the trial.

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In their statements, several of which had to be read on behalf of people too emotional to read them in court,  the family members described their horror at hearing Hales’ voice in recordings gathered by undercover police. In those recordings, Hales was heard describing the brutal slaying of Bosse and repeatedly dismissing her as an aboriginal woman who, in his view, no one cared about.  Especially painful for several of Bosse’s loved ones were recordings of Hales mocking the family’s efforts to find her.

“I failed my sister.  I failed as her protector,” said Bosse’s brother, choking back tears as he read his statement. He was interrupted by Justice Gerald Allbright, who told him that he hadn’t failed anyone, and said that he was honouring Bosse with his words.

Throughout the victim impact statements, Hales sank lower and lower in his seat in the prisoner’s box and eventually began quietly sobbing.

When Allbright had heard from the family, he allowed the lawyers to make arguments. A second-degree murder conviction carries an automatic life sentence, with no chance of parole for a minimum of 10 years. The Crown argued that Hales’ crime was so horrific that it warranted a parole eligibility period of 20 years. Hales’ lawyer said no sentence should be so stifling that it eliminates any chance for a prisoner to reform.

Given a chance to speak before Allbright decided on a sentence,  Hales apologized, but finished by saying through tears: “I don’t expect anyone to forgive me. I don’t deserve it.”

Ultimately, Allbright said that the brutal nature of Hales’ offence made the minimum of 10 years inappropriate, but, saying that no one knows what road Hales may walk when he begins his time at a federal penitentiary, he opted to extend the period to 15 years.

Allbright stressed that this only means that Hales is eligible to appear befoe a parole board and plead his case — the board would ultimately have discretion and it’s entirely possible Hales may never see the outside of a prison ever again.

Hales spent about six years in remand both ahead of and during his trial. For a murder conviction that time gets credited at a ratio of one-to-one, meaning Hales may appear before a parole board in about nine years.

After the trial, Hales’ lawyer, Bob Hrycan, said he’s already planning to appeal. That appeal would be based on a Supreme Court decision that changed how ‘Mr. Big’ evidence is to be handled by the courts.  The high court ruling came just before Allbright had originally been due to deliver a verdict and was applied retroactively to Hales’ case.

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