Alberta’s highest court has dismissed a former Ontario truck driver’s bid for a third trial in the 2011 death of a woman in an Edmonton hotel.
Bradley Barton was sentenced to 12½ years for manslaughter in the death of Cindy Gladue, a Métis and Cree woman who bled to death in a bathtub in June 2011.
Gladue, who was 36, was a sex worker Barton had hired for two nights.
“The appellant was convicted of manslaughter. He appeals that conviction, arguing certain evidence should not have been admitted at trial,” said Monday’s decision by the Court of Appeal of Alberta.
“We find no reviewable errors in the trial judge’s rulings on the admissibility of evidence.”
Barton’s lawyers also argued the trial judge erred in part of his charge to the jury, but the three Appeal Court judges didn’t agree.
They dismissed the appeal.
Previous trials heard that the truck driver from Mississauga, Ont., performed a sexual act on Gladue that severely wounded her. Barton testified the sex was consensual.
A jury found Barton not guilty in 2015 of first-degree murder, but it was appealed by the Crown and he had a second trial in 2021.
In a statement Monday, Gladue’s family said they are deeply relieved the appeal court judges unanimously denied Barton’s appeal.
“All I ever wanted was to know he would not be able to hurt anyone else the way he hurt and killed my daughter. I hope he will now stop and let us move on,” Gladue’s mother, Donna McLeod, said in the statement.
Barton’s lawyer Peter Sankoff said Barton was taken into custody when he was sentenced and remains there. Sankoff didn’t rule out attempting another appeal.
“Mr. Barton is understandably disappointed with the court’s decision, and he is exploring the possibility of seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court,” Sankoff said in an email Monday.