BONNYVILLE - Frank James Frenchman, the man formerly convicted of second-degree murder in the death of 83-year-old Alfred Wagner, is out on bail while he awaits a new trial.
On Jan. 24, the Alberta Court of Appeal granted Frank James Frenchman a new trial, after he was sentenced to serve life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 13 years last year for the October 2016 murder of Wagner, a Bonnyville senior.
Following the Edmonton trial, the accused expressed his intentions to appeal the conviction. Earlier this week, he was granted a new trial in private Edmonton chambers. According to the Alberta Courts, this isn't the typical protocol. In most cases where a new trial is ordered, an appeal hearing is held with a panel of three justices.
The decision to grant the new trial was made behind closed doors after the Crown consented to the appeal noting the fairness of the trial was compromised as a result of the trial judge failing to adhere to the proper or accepted standards by suddenly halting a voir dire, which is a minature hearing within a trial, into the voluntariness of Frank James Frenchman's confession.
The voir dire would have required the Crown to outline their proof surrounding the voluntariness of Frank James Frenchman's confession, and also to call evidence to establish the presence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and low cognitive functioning. However, the judge ruled his confession as admissable.
The matter will be back before the St. Paul Court of Queen's Bench to schedule a new trial. Until then, the judicial interim release Frank James Frenchman was granted on Jan. 16, following a Dec. 11, 2019 bail hearing, will remain in place.
Frank James Frenchman was charged alongside his sister, Arizona Chastity Frenchman, both from the Bonnyville/Kehewin area, following the murder of Wagner, who was found dead in his Bonnyville home in mid-October 2016.
Arizona Chastity Frenchman was sentenced to five years in prison for manslaughter in late 2018.
