Close X
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
ADVT 
National

Central Alberta financial advisor found guilty in blast that kills disabled woman

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 25 Feb, 2015 10:34 AM

    RED DEER, Alta. — A central Alberta financial adviser showed no emotion Tuesday night as a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder for killing his disabled client with a pipe bomb disguised as a Christmas present.

    Brian Malley, 57, will serve a life sentence with no parole for 25 years after killing Victoria Shachtay, a 23-year-old single mother who died in her wheelchair when she opened a gift bag that had been left on her doorstep in Innisfail, Alta., in 2011.

    Malley declined to say anything when asked during sentencing submissions if he wanted to address the court, but outside court, Shachtay's family expressed relief.

    "It's a big weight off my shoulders," said Victor Shachtay, the victim's father. "I'm certain that Vicky would be satisfied with the outcome of this trial."

    Asked if he wished Malley would have said something, he dismissed the notion.

    "I don't care about him. He's gone. I'll never have to worry about that man again, and he's not on the streets killing other people."

    Crown prosecutor Anders Quist was pleased the jury saw it the way they did.

    "It was not an easy case; the evidence was circumstantial," he said.

    Malley was also found guilty of two explosives-related charges by the jury, which deliberated for just six hours.

    Over the course of the five-week trial, jurors were told that Shachtay entrusted more than half a million dollars she had been awarded in a car crash to Malley, a family friend. However, he had lost it all and was continuing her payments by using his own money.

    The Crown argued he killed her to cut his losses, but the defence countered that Malley was simply a generous guy.

    "There's an easier way to cut your losses — you just stop paying,'' defence lawyer Bob Aloneissi told the jury in his closing address.

    "Mr. Malley is being prosecuted because he cares for people, in this case, a single mom in a wheelchair.''

    Shachtay was paralyzed in a car crash in 2004, when she was 16 and pregnant. Three years later, she received a court settlement of $575,000 and Malley convinced her to take out a loan for another $264,000 to bump up her investment fund.

    Quist reminded the jury that although some of the money was lost due to drops in the market, Malley also put some of her funds in high-risk investments.

    He said Malley had called Shachtay "a pain in the ass" and described her as stubborn and lazy because she spent too much money and wouldn't get a job.

    DNA that was consistent with Malley's, although not conclusive, was found on a piece of paper and tape in the bomb debris.

    Other evidence showed Malley owned or purchased some of the same parts used to make the bomb — a piece of galvanized steel pipe, gunpowder, an end cap, a light switch, a lantern battery and tiny light bulbs.

    Shachtay's caregiver was also in the home at the time, but was not hurt. Her young daughter Destiny was not home.

    Victor Shachtay said the girl still "doesn't have a grasp ... of how her mother died. It's going to take a couple of years. She'll find out, and we'll have to do what we have to do then. There's no use forcing her into this."

    He said he takes strength from his memory of his daughter and his pride in her.

    "She was a happy person," he said. "She was happy to be alive, happy to have a daughter. She coped with everything. She didn't feel sorry for herself or whine or cry."

    (CHUB)

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Eggs-treme reaction to altered Creme Egg recipe - but no change in Canada

    Eggs-treme reaction to altered Creme Egg recipe - but no change in Canada
    TORONTO — Shell-shocked chocolate lovers are crying fowl over word that the recipe for the iconic Cadbury Creme Egg is being changed in the U.K.

    Eggs-treme reaction to altered Creme Egg recipe - but no change in Canada

    Ottawa police arrest man after east-end hotel, neighbourhood evacuated overnight

    Ottawa police arrest man after east-end hotel, neighbourhood evacuated overnight
    Ottawa police arrested a man without incident at an east-end hotel Wednesday following an overnight investigation linked to the evacuation of two areas in Halifax where police found dangerous chemicals.

    Ottawa police arrest man after east-end hotel, neighbourhood evacuated overnight

    IKEA Monkey 'Mom' Buys Two New Monkeys, Supporters Say In Facebook Post

    IKEA Monkey 'Mom' Buys Two New Monkeys, Supporters Say In Facebook Post
    TORONTO — Supporters of a woman who calls herself the Ikea monkey's "mom" claim in a Facebook post that she has now bought two monkeys.

    IKEA Monkey 'Mom' Buys Two New Monkeys, Supporters Say In Facebook Post

    Five things about the Bank of Canada's decision to cut its key interest rate

    Five things about the Bank of Canada's decision to cut its key interest rate
    OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate by a quarter point to 0.75 per cent Wednesday to soften the blow of dropping oil prices.

    Five things about the Bank of Canada's decision to cut its key interest rate

    Mortgage rates to decline following central bank's rate cut: economists

    Mortgage rates to decline following central bank's rate cut: economists
    TORONTO — Canadian homeowners have likely gained a reprieve from an expected increase in mortgage rates this year.

    Mortgage rates to decline following central bank's rate cut: economists

    Keep running deficits until economy stabilizes? Trudeau dodges question

    Keep running deficits until economy stabilizes? Trudeau dodges question
    LONDON, Ont. — Justin Trudeau refuses to say if he thinks the federal government should abandon its commitment to a balanced budget given the economic turmoil caused by plunging oil prices.

    Keep running deficits until economy stabilizes? Trudeau dodges question