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Accused killer fires lawyer – again

Jan 17, 2018 | 1:00 PM

A penitentiary murder case was delayed this morning when the accused killer fired his Legal Aid lawyer for the second time.

Tyler Robert Vandewater was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of 37-year-old Christopher Andrew Van Camp June 7, 2017, while they were incarcerated together at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary. Penitentiary staff notified police of the death, which was treated as suspicious from the beginning of the investigation.

This morning Vandewater appeared in Prince Albert Provincial Court over a video link from the Quebec penitentiary where he is currently held. Although the matter was set to be adjourned to a later date, Vandewater addressed Judge Robert Lane directly to say he was not happy with his Legal Aid lawyer Fatima Sarwar.

“She has some sort of other agenda,” Vandewater said. “I don’t feel comfortable using her… I would like to get rid of her.”

The charges against him are very serious, Vandewater argued, and he therefore needs the best possible representation.

“This is my life on the line here,” he said.

Vandewater said a private, Montreal-based lawyer had agreed to take on his case, but Lane noted the Saskatchewan court is unlikely to appoint an out-of-province defence lawyer. Lane said Vandewater needed to reapply with Legal Aid and be denied service before the court can appoint anyone to the case.

Today marked the second time Vandewater dismissed a Legal Aid lawyer, after he requested a replacement for Terra Lennox-Zepp in September. Lane allowed Legal Aid to withdraw as Vandewater’s counsel for the second time, but cautioned the inmate against causing further delays.

“If you keep on firing them, nothing much gets done,” Lane said.

Lauren Laithwaite, the mother of the alleged victim Van Camp, has filed a lawsuit against Correctional Service Canada and the Attorney General of Canada, alleging penitentiary staff did not provide adequate protection for Van Camp when they placed him in a cell with Vandewater. The lawsuit claims Van Camp had recently recovered from a coma at the time of his death, and was nonetheless housed with an inmate known for violence.

In addition to the murder charge, Vandewater is accused of two counts of aggravated assault. He is presumed innocent at this stage.

 

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TaylorMacP