CALGARY — There will not be a new trial for two men convicted in the triple murder of a central Alberta family six years ago.
Jason Klaus and Joshua Frank were sentenced to life with no chance of parole for 25 years in 2018 after being convicted of three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Gordon, Sandra and Monica Klaus.
The bodies of Klaus’s father and sister were found in their burned-out farmhouse near Castor, Alta., in 2013 — his mother’s body was never found but police believe she also died in the home.
The two men had asked Alberta’s Court of Appeal to order a new trial but the three member panel rejected their request.
The men blamed each other for the killings and both had confessed to an undercover RCMP officer.
Court heard Klaus was having problems with his father and offered Frank money to kill the family — Frank told police he did it because he was scared that Klaus would shoot him if he didn’t follow through.
Klaus had a cocaine and gambling addiction and forged cheques on his parents account, promising to pay them back.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2019.
The Canadian Press