The province has ordered a review of the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Larry Darling.
Darling was accused of killing 28-year old Kristy Morrey in Port Alberni in 2006.
According to the Vancouver Sun, a Crown prosecutor who gave legal advice to the RCMP team leader in a botched first-degree murder investigation has been appointed to review allegations of misconduct and the stay of proceedings against 54-year old Darling.
Dan McLaughlin, communications counsel for the B.C. Prosecution Service, said in an email to Postmedia News that “a number of challenges and issues arose, including with respect to case management, disclosure, and the handling of exhibits and evidence.
Peter Juk, the Assistant Deputy Attorney General, asked senior Crown Counsel, Robert Wright, to conduct a review of the handling of the case.
Defence lawyer Kevin McCullough was flabbergasted, saying Wright was directly providing legal advice to the RCMP regarding this undercover operation, and said asking him to lead this investigation is neither reasonable nor prudent.
The first-degree murder charge against Larry Darling was stayed June 13 in Nanaimo.
CHEK News and the Vancouver Sun successfully sued for access to protected court documents, and say they “appear to expose the chilling anatomy of a possible wrongful conviction in process”.