Ontario trucker loses bid for third trial in killing of woman at Edmonton hotel

EDMONTON — Alberta’s highest court has dismissed a former Ontario truck driver’s bid for a third trial in the 2011 death of a woman in an Edmonton hotel.

Bradley Barton was sentenced to 12-and-a-half years for manslaughter in the death of Cindy Gladue, a Métis and Cree woman who bled to death in a bathtub.

Gladue, 36, was a sex worker Barton had hired for two nights.

“The appellant was convicted of manslaughter. He appeals that conviction, arguing certain evidence should not have been admitted at trial,” said Monday’s decision by the Court of Appeal of Alberta.

“We find no reviewable errors in the trial judge’s rulings on the admissibility of evidence.”

Barton’s lawyers also argued the trial judge erred in part of his charge to the jury, but the three Appeal Court judges didn’t agree. 

They dismissed the conviction appeal.

Peter Sankoff, one of Barton’s lawyers, said in an email that his client is “understandably disappointed” by the decision.

He’s exploring the possibility of seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, he added.

The legal proceedings have been ongoing for more than a decade.

Previous trials heard that the truck driver from Mississauga, Ont., performed a sexual act on Gladue that severely wounded her vagina. Barton testified the sex was consensual.

A jury found Barton not guilty in 2015 of first-degree murder. That decision sparked rallies and calls for justice for Indigenous women across the country.

There was also outrage because Gladue’s preserved vaginal tissue was presented in court during the trial. She was also repeatedly referred to as a “native” and a “prostitute.”

The Crown appealed the verdict. The Alberta Court ordered a new trial and the Supreme Court of Canada later agreed.

After the manslaughter conviction at the second trial in 2021, the Crown filed a sentence appeal calling the prison term “demonstrably unfit.” It had recommended Barton be sentenced to between 18 and 20 years.

Barton’s lawyers had also filed a sentence appeal with the court.

Those appeals, which are expected to be heard at the same time, are still to be decided.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Jan. 29, 2024.

The Canadian Press