SEXSMITH — Escaped killer William Bicknell was back in custody Sunday after he was recaptured following a standoff, Alberta RCMP said in a news release.
The fugitive, who is 6-foot-6 and weighs more than 400 pounds, was arrested Saturday evening following a car chase that started near Spirit River and ended about 20 kilometres north of Grande Prairie, near Sexsmith, police said.
A standoff began after Bicknell’s vehicle ran into a ditch, police said, but he was quickly surrounded and soon surrendered.
Bicknell, 42, was taken to hospital in Grande Prairie with undetermined injuries, police said.
A Mountie also sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the encounter.
Bicknell escaped Thursday night during an escorted temporary absence from Drumheller Institution while returning from Edmonton, authorities said.
Bicknell was convicted in 2003 in the beating death of Angela Steer, who was from Maple Ridge, B.C.
The 37-year-old woman’s body was found dumped over an embankment in Mission, B.C., in April 2001.
News reports from his trial say Bicknell and Steer got into an argument over a bank machine scam in which Bicknell deposited empty envelopes and then tried to withdraw cash.
The argument happened in Steer’s Maple Ridge apartment. Steer reportedly hit Bicknell with a bat and Bicknell struck back with a bat of his own, killing Steer.
At trial, Bicknell argued he had acted in self-defence because Steer, who was 5-foot-4 and 130 pounds, struck him first.
But the judge convicted Bicknell of second-degree murder and handed him the mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole for 10 years.
Police said charges are pending against Bicknell in connection with his escape.
Bicknell’s sister, Sandra Lynn Myshak, 47 was arrested on Friday in connection with the case.
Police said the Edmonton woman faces several charges that include assisting a person escaping custody and aiding in a kidnapping with a firearm.