The trial of a teenaged boy began in an Edmonton courtroom Monday, the latest development nearly four years after Barry Boenke and Susan Trudel were found dead in their rural home near Ardrossan.
On June 1, 2009, RCMP found the bodies of 68-year-old Boenke and 50-year-old Trudel on Boenke’s rural property after Edmonton police pulled over two 14-year-old boys in a pickup truck registered to Boenke in the city.
It was later revealed that those teens had run away from a youth group home – called Bosco Homes, located near Sherwood Park, a day before the slaying.
Those two teens were charged with first-degree murder in the deaths – but in 2011, those charges were downgraded to second-degree murder, before they were stayed against both boys.
CTV News later learned they were stayed because an interview with one of the accused was deemed inadmissible in court.
However, new evidence was found, and in May, 2012, the charges against one of the teens were re-instated.
He is now facing two counts of second-degree murder, one count of possession of a stolen vehicle over $5,000, possession of a weapon and break and enter.
The accused pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree murder.
On Monday, the trial began – starting the emotional rollercoaster for the families of the victims again.
“I would like to have justice done for Susan, and my brother,” Boenke’s sister told CTV News outside of court Monday.
Those in the courtroom on the first day were shown gruesome video of the crime scene – with shots of the Boenke’s body lying outside the home, and Trudel’s, with her head in a metal mixing bowl inside the home – and blood spatter throughout the kitchen.
Throughout Monday’s appearance, the teen, now 17-years-old kept his head down.
The trial is expected to last up to six weeks – the Crown Prosecutor has called up to 30 witnesses, including the other teen formerly accused in the case.
With files from Serena Mah
