B.C. court acquits murder suspect after finding police conduct 'degrading and humiliating'

A British Columbia man accused of murdering his common-law wife has been acquitted after a judge threw out a confession she found was tainted by "degrading and humiliating" treatment by police.

Frederick Charlie, a First Nations man, was found not guilty Monday in his judge-only trial. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Palbinder Shergill ruled in early July that his confession was inadmissible after finding investigators with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team violated his Charter rights.

The judge found homicide investigators forced Charlie to change clothes in front of officers who knew he wasn't wearing underwear and placed him in a cell with an undercover officer who deliberately urinated on himself while lying close to Charlie. After that operation, Charlie was moved to a different cell with a second undercover officer — a tactic intended to get suspects to talk after they had chosen to remain silent during formal interrogations.

Shergill ruled that police deprived Charlie of sleep and created "an environment that was cumulatively oppressive" and "distasteful" in their pursuit of a confession. The judge found investigators persisted in interrogating Charlie "beyond the point of fatigue because they believed that this would increase their chances of getting a confession."

Charlie was accused in the April 2024 killing of Vanessa Terry near Agassiz, B.C. The B.C. Prosecution Service confirmed the acquittal after the ruling was released Wednesday.