By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles

Trial set for woman accused of killing her mother

May 8, 2017 | 11:46 AM

LETHBRIDGE – A 52-year old woman accused of killing her mother will be going back to jail, as she awaits trial.

Lisa Freihaut appeared in Court of Queen’s Bench Monday morning (May 8), where she offered a plea of not guilty to second degree murder in the death of 78-year old Irene Carter in January of 2016.

A four-week jury trial was then scheduled to begin Sept. 4, 2018.

Before that however, the husband of the accused, Dean Freihaut, asked to be discharged as surety for her, meaning her bail has been revoked. She had been out on a $100,000 surety and under 24-hour house arrest since her release in June of 2016.

Outside the courthouse, Freihaut’s lawyer, Andre Ouellette, said the decision was made by the family, and went over a few reasons why they may have decided on that option.

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“Whatever happens, if you’re found guilty of either second degree murder or manslaughter, whatever it is, your time starts counting when you’re in custody, so any sentence therefore starts from the moment you’re in custody on murder charges… so that’s one advantage,” explained Ouellette. “And clearly, it’s a difficult situation, this is a small town… it’s a local family, so it maybe a situation where it’s more comfortable [going back into custody] all around.”

On Jan. 17, 2016, Freihaut and her husband called police, saying they found Carter’s body in her home along the 300 block of Normandy Road South while going to check-up on her. An autopsy confirmed she died from multiple stab wounds, and police believe she was killed on Jan. 13.

In a release from the Lethbridge Police Service, they stated that they believe a dispute over finances led to a physical altercation between the victim and another individual, which resulted in Carter’s death.