Medicine Hat man found guilty of murder and extortion

The two files were initially separate but were merged when subsequent extortion letters linked the two.

The Crown called more than 30 witnesses during the trial. Numerous members of the Medicine Hat Police Service’s Major Crimes Unit testified, as did some of Satre’s neighbours.

Key evidence included testimony from an RCMP DNA expert who testified DNA from Hoefman was found on the nose pads of a pair of eyeglasses found at the murder scene as well as on the extortion letters.

Prosecutors also called the former police forensics investigator, who detailed the search history and files on a laptop and thumb drives seized from Hoefman’s residence.

The history included searches for the extortion target, homicide and the weight of specific amounts of currency. The name of the extortion target appeared numerous times in the files, as did other words the allowed investigators to link the extortion letters to the accused.

The defence did not call any witnesses or present any evidence.

In its closing, the defence told jury members they should have serious questions about the investigation.

Counsel suggested one of the investigators was feeding information about the investigation to a friend who had been a suspect and that officers did not follow proper procedures for evidence collection.

Prosecutors and police believe Satre was a victim chosen at random to further the extortion plot, which demanded $1 million. The identity of the extortion target is protected by a court-ordered publication ban.

The jury reached its verdict after deliberating for about seven hours.

The trial began with jury selection on March 1 and took fewer than four weeks.

by Chris Brown

Medicine Hat man found guilty of murder and extortion

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