By Canadian Press

Ontario trucker appeals prison sentence for killing woman in Edmonton hotel

Aug 16, 2021 | 12:47 PM

EDMONTON — An Ontario trucker is trying to appeal his 12 1/2-year sentence after he was found guilty in the killing of a woman in his Edmonton hotel room.

Bradley Barton was sentenced in July for manslaughter in the death of Cindy Gladue, a Métis and Cree woman who bled to death in a bathtub at the Yellowhead Inn in June 2011.

Medical experts testified the mother of three had four times the legal limit of alcohol in her system when Barton performed a sexual act that caused a severe wound to her vagina.

It was the second trial for Barton after a jury found him not guilty in 2015 of first-degree murder in Gladue’s death, sparking rallies and calls for justice for Indigenous women across the country. 

Both the Alberta Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada ordered a new trial.

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Barton’s lawyer, Dino Bottos, says in a notice of appeal that the trial judge in the second trial erred in his consideration of aggravating and mitigating factors.

On the day of Barton’s sentencing, Bottos told media it had not been proven in court that Barton had the intention to kill Gladue. A medical expert testified during trial that Gladue may have lived had she received immediate medical help.

Bottos also said the judge should not have made evidence of Barton’s graphic internet search history of violent pornographic videos admissible, because there was no evidence he actually watched them.

“Another ground of appeal will likely be on the conduct of the jury,” Bottos said at the time.

“Whether they maintained an objective disposition throughout the trial to try Mr. Barton fairly, and without prejudice … these are factors.”

Two jurors had been excused from the second trial. 

Justice Stephen Hillier was notified one jury member had expressed that working in the sex trade was “bad” and that Gladue would have lived had she not exchanged sex for money with Barton. The trial heard another juror was excused because he was trying to sway the opinion of the others.

Bottos says in the notice of appeal filed Monday that Barton’s sentence was not proportional to the crime.

The notice was filed 20 days after Barton was sentenced.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2021.

The Canadian Press