EDMONTON — Murder charges have been stayed against two teenaged boys accused of escaping from a group home and killing an Edmonton-area couple.
An Alberta Justice spokesman says a judge has thrown out crucial evidence during pre-trial hearings, making convictions on first-degree murder unlikely.
David Dear says the Crown is examining the decision to see if there are grounds for an appeal.
A decision to stay the charges gives the Crown a year to reactivate them if new evidence comes to light.
The two were charged in 2009 after the bodies of 50-year-old Susan Trudel and 68-year-old Barry Boenke were found on a rural property near Sherwood Park.
The boys were 14 at the time and the deaths prompted Bosco Homes to close the group home.