Prosecutors have withdrawn a second-degree murder charge against a man who spent 23 years in prison for the killing of a 10-year-old girl in 1989.
Ontario’s court of appeal set aside the conviction against Timothy Rees, 62, last month and ordered a new trial into the complex case, which includes recanted confessions, accusations of police conspiracy and mishandled evidence.
It came after two former federal justice ministers said a “miscarriage of justice” had likely occurred during Rees’s original trial more than 30 years ago.
The decision however fell on the Crown to decide whether to proceed with a new trial.
Prosecutors said Thursday that in light of the appeal ruling and the passage of time, it was no longer in the public interest to try the case.
A Toronto man who spent 23 years in prison for the murder of a little girl has been granted a new trial. Timothy Rees has maintained he was wrongfully convicted of the 1989 murder of 10-year-old Darla Thurrott. But as CBC’s Ali Chiasson reports, even with a new trial, his exoneration is far from guaranteed.
Rees was found guilty in 1990 of second-degree murder in the killing of Darla Thurrott and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years.
He challenged his conviction but the appeal was dismissed in 1994, and the Supreme Court declined to hear his case.
Rees was released on day parole in 2009 and later granted full parole.
The new appeal turned on a recording of a conversation between an officer and the landlord of the building, which police had not disclosed.
On the recording, the landlord James Raymer, who lived in the same home as Darla and her family, denied killing the girl and “made some statements suggesting prior sexual contact with her,” the decision said.
It said he also made comments that suggested he had encountered Darla on the night of her death, and others that denied he had.
The fact that the tape had not been disclosed affected the fairness of the trial, the court ruled, by depriving the defence of material to further advance its theory of a third-party suspect.
Raymer, who was a Crown witness in the original trial, died in 1999.
Crown decision feels bittersweet: Rees
Outside of the courthouse, Rees said he was overwhelmed after hearing the crown’s decision, saying it was the end of “a very long, hard battle” that he never should have had to fight.
“It means the world to me to have my name cleared,” he said. “It should be a happy day, but it’s really not, because I’m sad over Darla’s death and there’s no justice for her.”
He said he was angry with Toronto police for withholding the recording, and there need to be safe checks in place to make sure no one else experiences the same thing he went through.
“I pretty much lost everything in my life,” he said. “I’m never going to have my own kids and that stuff.”
Looking ahead, Rees said he plans to live the best life he possibly can with his dog Blitz.
As It Happens6:46Man cleared of charges in 10-year-old’s murder says he’s ready to move forward
Prosecutors have withdrawn a second-degree murder charge against Toronto’s Timothy Rees, who spent 23 years in prison for the 1989 killing of a 10-year-old girl, and later had his conviction overturned. Rees and his lawyer, James Lockyer, spoke to As It Happens host Nil Köksal.
In an interview with CBC Radio’s As It Happens later, Rees said he is glad that the charges were withdrawn.
“I’m relieved that I’m no longer classified as a murderer and it’s now off my back. I have to just move forward,” he said.
“I am truly saddened that Darla’s life was taken, but it has nothing to do with me. But I wish I could somehow get justice for her. Darla was my little buddy. We were friends and I would never ever harm her ever, or any other child.”
Rees’s lawyer James Lockyer said in court on Thursday that the Crown’s decision marked “the end of a very long saga” for Rees.
He said the legal team had no concerns of a retrial, as it would’ve been a “Crown attorney’s nightmare.”
While he clarified that he wasn’t a civil lawyer, Lockyer said Rees should consider a civil suit against police and the justice system.
“He deserves every penny he can get,” said Lockyer outside of the courthouse, adding the decision was only made possible with the discovery of the police recording.
“It’s well known that wrongful convictions are often solved by just sheer fluke, good luck, good chance, and that’s very true of Tim’s case.”
In an interview with CBC Radio’s As It Happens later, Lockyer said Rees allegedly confessed.
“He confessed, they say. In fact, what they did was they wrote down their version of what they think might have happened if he had done it, and just had him say yes. And so it was really their words, and then they just said, ‘Sign here.’
“And they caught him at a time that he was very depressed… He was in a wretched state at the time, and just wanted to get out of the room and go to sleep somewhere. So he was ready to do whatever if they asked him.”
Lockyer said it is a relief that the charges were dropped.
“Tim’s case, I’ve worked on for 11 years, so it’s been a very long time. And it’s nice to finally see it ended and to know that Tim can walk with his head high now.”
