Defence uses closing to raise questions about murder and extortion evidence, investigation

Their relationship had ended badly and the target’s belief upon receiving the first extortion letter was that his ex-partner was behind it.

Ferg also raised concerns about the personal relationship between that person and Sgt. Timothy Schottner. Ferg contends Schottner did not fully disclose the extent of his relationship with the extortion target’s former business partner.

Ferg said of Schottner’s testimony, he “comes before you and is still downplaying his involvement. It begs the question: what is going on here?”

She suggests the sergeant was feeding information about the investigation to his friend and those details ended up in future extortion letters.

Now retired, Schottner was the Medicine Hat Police Service’s top digital forensics investigator in the fall of 2017.

Ferg also cast doubt on how evidence was collected and whether proper procedures were followed.

She told jury members to ask themselves “whether you have a shred of faith in the ability of this police force to properly handle evidence.”

The defence also thinks police should have looked more closely at the neighbour who found the body of James Satre on Oct. 11, 2017.

During the trial, the defence had attacked the credibility of the neighbour.

“These have to be questions you’re asking yourself,” Ferg told the jury in closing. She also warned them against “doing a bunch of gymnastics” to make the Crown’s theory work.

In its closing statements to the jury, the Crown revisited the extortion letters reminded jurors that Hoefman’s DNA was found on them.

Lead prosecutor Ramona Robins reminded the jury the testimony of DNA expert, who said the chances of that match are 1 in 1.7 quintillion (18 zeroes)

She also reminded the jury of the content of the second extortion letter.

In part, it congratulated the extortion target “on becoming an accessory to murder” and said that person’s actions “ordered the hit.” Robins says that is a “direct reference to the murder of James Satre, which at this point hasn’t been discovered yet.”

Hoefman’s arrest on Nov. 8, 2017 came as a result of what Robins characterized as a lucky break the day before. That day, an officer searching for counter-surveillance relating to a second bag drop demand came across Robert Hoefman in the area.

At that point police began to reassess his possible involvement.

A search of laptops and thumb drives seized from Hoefman’s home contained evidence of a connection to the letters and the man he was extorting.

After his arrest and a DNA sample was taken from Hoefman, his DNA was matched to letters sent to the extortion target as well as on a pair of eyeglasses found at the murder scene. Blood matching James Satre was also found on those glasses.

“These aren’t random pieces. They do all fit together,” says Robins.

Deliberations are expected to begin tomorrow after Justice Dallas Miller gives his final instructions to the jury.

The Crown’s theory is that Satre was a random victim killed in October 2017 to further the extortion plot.

by Chris Brown

Defence uses closing to raise questions about murder and extortion evidence, investigation

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