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A Saskatoon judge has found Joseph ‘David’ Caissie guilty of first-degree murder in the 2011 death of Carol King.
King went missing in August 2011 from her Herschel, Sask. farm and her body was found three weeks later 10 kilometres north of the community.
Caissie was arrested in July 2016 after a months-long police sting operation. Over the course of his trial, it was revealed Caissie admitted to killing King in five separate conversations with undercover officers.
In a decision delivered Friday in Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench, Justice Richard Danyliuk laid out what happened based on the evidence he heard at trial.
A romantic relationship between King and Caissie had broken down by August 2011, leading Caissie to beginning planning the murder.
He made preparations right down to planning a route from his workplace in Olds, Alta. to King’s home that used mostly back roads. On Aug. 6, 2011, he switched off his cellphone so records wouldn’t be able to show he’d left Olds.
Caissie drove to King’s home, where he lurked outside until she came out to get her car from a shed where it was parked. At that point, Caissie grabbed her, tied her up and put her in the trunk of her vehicle.
He then drove her to an abandoned farmyard where he killed her and then hid her body in some bushes on the property. From there, Caissie took King’s car to a slough, where he drove it into the water. He burnt his clothing, changed and took his own vehicle back to Olds.
Caissie was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years, calculated from the date of his 2016 arrest. He was also given a five-year sentence for offering an indignity to a body, which runs at the same time as the murder sentence.
Yvonne King, Carol’s mother, spoke with 650 CKOM by phone from Nova Scotia about the verdict.
“I’m very overwhelmed, I’m happy it’s all over,” she said.
She said the two years since Caissie was charged have been hell for her and the family of King. She said they suspected Caissie all along.
“She’s here in our hearts, and he’s the one who won’t see outside again,” Yvonne King said.
She added the verdict and sentence gives her family a chance to move forward with their lives.
Because his offence was committed before Dec. 2, 2011, Caissie can apply in 15 years to have his parole ineligibility period shortened from the mandatory 25 years.
As it stands, he wouldn’t currently be eligible to apply for parole until 2041.
— With files from 650 CKOM’s Chris Vandenbreekel
