OSHAWA COURT FILE NO.: CR-21-15565
DATE: 20220929
ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
BETWEEN:
HIS MAJESTY THE KING
Ngai On Young, Sean M. O’Neill for the Crown Applicant
Applicant
- and -
JEFFREY WELDON
Thomas F. Balka, Nathaniel Spear-Balka, for the Respondent
Respondent
HEARD: June 6-30; July 4-14, 2022
Table of Contents
ISSUE 1: Are the statements made during the undercover operations admissible?. 2
Evidence filed at the Hart Voir Dire. 2
Background and Build-Up to the Undercover Operation. 2
Overview of the Undercover Operation. 4
The Hiring of Mr. Weldon and the Landscape Business (UCOs 1-10) 5
UCO12 – Collecting Money. 6
Katrina and the Lost Money. 6
UC1’s Girlfriend. 7
The Van. 8
UCO46-51. 10
UCO51 – The Final Operation. 20
April 22, 2019. 29
Dissemination of Information. 29
Mr. Weldon. 31
Sources of Income. 31
Residence. 31
Mental Health and Drug Usage. 32
Social Network. 33
Discreditable Conduct 34
Law and Analysis. 34
Positions of Counsel 35
The First Prong: Assessing the probative value of the statements vs. their prejudicial effect 36
Assessing the Probative Value of Mr. Weldon’s Statement that he Buried Melanie Vachon. 36
The Length of the Operation and the Number of Interactions Between the Police and the Accused 38
The Nature of the Relationship Between the Undercover Officers and the Accused. 39
The Nature and Extent of the Inducements Offered. 40
The Presence of Any Threats. 41
The Conduct of the Interrogation Itself. 41
The Personality of the Accused. 45
Markers of Reliability. 48
Prejudicial Effect 52
Conclusion on First Prong. 53
Second Prong: Was the Operation an Abuse of Process?. 54
Conclusion on Hart Application. 56
ISSUE 2: Is the August 7, 2019 statement voluntary?. 57
Circumstances Leading to the Taking of the August 9th Statement 58
The Interview.. 58
Mr. Weldon’s Medication. 71
Law and Analysis. 73
LEIBOVICH J.
[1] Mr. Weldon is charged with manslaughter and indignities to a human body in connection with the death of his long time partner, Melanie Vachon. Ms. Vachon was found dead, buried in a shallow grave down by the Whitby lakeshore, on June 2, 2018. On May 18, 2018, Mr. Weldon contacted the police and reported her missing. Mr. Weldon gave a number of interviews with the police. After a “failed” June 19, 2018 polygraph, the police believed Mr. Weldon to be a suspect. The police launched an undercover operation that they called operation Grande Prairies in August 2018. The operation lasted nine months. On April 16th, 2019, Mr. Weldon told the undercover police officers that Ms. Vachon died of a drug overdose but that he buried the body. The police were expecting to conduct further undercover operations but, on April 22, 2019, the police were called to Mr. Weldon’s residence because of an alleged stabbing resulting in a stand-off with the police. Mr. Weldon set the residence on fire. He eventually jumped out of the window and ran before he was caught by the police. Mr. Weldon was taken into custody effectively ending any chance that the undercover operation could continue.
[2] On August 7, 2019, Mr. Weldon was released from custody only to be immediately re‑arrested for Ms. Vachon’s death. He gave a statement to the police. He initially denied any involvement in Ms. Vachon’s death until he was confronted with a recording from the April 16th undercover operation. Mr. Weldon then stated that Ms. Vachon died of a drug overdose but that he buried her.
[3] The Crown seeks to have Mr. Weldon’s statements made during the undercover operations admitted at trial. It is not disputed that the undercover operations can be classified as a Mr. Big operation. The statements can only be admitted if it is determined that, applying the framework set out in R. v. Hart, their probative value outweigh their prejudicial effect. The Crown also seeks to have the post-arrest August 7, 2019 statement admitted at trial. Thus, there are two issues:
Are the statements made by Mr. Weldon during the undercover operations admissible at trial, pursuant to the analytical framework set out in R. v. Hart? And;
Has the Crown shown beyond a reasonable that Mr. Weldon’s August 7, 2019 statement was voluntary, and thus admissible at trial?
[4] On August 5, 2022, I informed counsel of my bottom line ruling that the statements made during the undercover operations were admissible, subject to editing and the August 7, 2019 statement was admissible subject to editing, with reasons to follow. These are those reasons.
ISSUE 1: Are the statements made during the undercover operations admissible?
Evidence filed at the Hart Voir Dire
[5] The Hart voir dire was lengthy. The recordings of the 46 undercover operations were played in court. Various undercover operatives testified as did their handler and the officer in charge. In addition, various officers testified about the discovery of Ms. Vachon’s body. The Crown and the defence agreed to file statements, testimony from the preliminary inquiry and other documentary evidence to help streamline the proceedings.
Background and Build-Up to the Undercover Operation
[6] Mr. Weldon and Ms. Vachon were in a relationship for 9 years. She was his fiancé. They lived together at Ms. Vachon’s apartment at Unit 110 at 700 Dunlop Street West in Whitby. Around the time of her death, Ms. Vachon was consuming illicit drugs and she suffered from epilepsy and seizures. In 2013, Ms. Vachon was the victim of a vicious robbery which continued to impact her at the time of her death.
[7] On May 7, 2018, Lisa Fisher, Ms. Vachon’s friend, received a text from Ms. Vachon at 9:31 am. This was the last communication received from Ms. Vachon.
[8] On May 8, 2018, Mr. Weldon, using Ms. Vachon’s phone, texted Ms. Vachon’s son at 3:16 am, stating that he was worried about Ms. Vachon. He then called his own cell at 8:30 am. At 8:46 am, Mr. Weldon called Rogers communications from Ms. Vachon’s phone, stating that Ms. Vachon was in the hospital and asked them not to turn off her phone. These last two calls hit off the Gordon tower, the tower closest to the Whitby waterfront.
[9] Later on May 8, 2018, Mr. Weldon had a text exchange with Lisa Fisher. At 9:00 pm, he texted Lisa that he received a message from Ms. Vachon. Mr. Weldon texted, “She left a message on my cell that I lost. I checked the messages and one was from her. She with friends at a cottage.” On May 11, 2018, Mr. Weldon attended a pharmacy and robbed them at knifepoint. He demanded to be taken to the narcotics safe and began to ingest the narcotics in a suicide attempt. When the pharmacist asked him why he was trying to kill himself, he indicated that his girlfriend has left him and he thought his life was “effed” up. Mr. Weldon returned home taking various illicit drugs with him. He was subsequently arrested for the robbery.
[10] On May 17, 2018, Mr. Weldon was released from jail. Throughout the undercover operations, one of the terms of his release required him to be at his residence by 9:00 pm. On May 18, 2018, Mr. Weldon called the police and reported Ms. Vachon missing. He gave a statement to the police. In that statement, he said that:
The last time he saw Ms. Vachon was on May 7th;
She had a seizure that morning and she had been having multiple seizures over the previous couple of days;
He believed that Ms. Vachon was visiting a friend whose sister had recently been hit by a bus, although Ms. Vachon did not say that. [That friend was Lisa Fisher.] Ms. Vachon said that she was going away for a couple of days, to get some space;
At the time he tried to commit suicide, he believed that Ms. Vachon may have left him for another guy;
He hoped that Ms. Vachon was with one of her girlfriends; and
He could not think of anyone, apart from the individuals who had robbed her, that wanted to harm her.
[11] On May 30, 2018, Mr. Weldon called and left a message for the police. Mr. Weldon said that he spoke to a mutual friend of his and Ms. Vachon’s. The friend said that Ms. Vachon told him that she was thinking of going to rehab.
[12] On June 2, 2018, Mr. Lamb, an off-duty police officer, was walking with his family along the Whitby waterfront. Mr. Lamb came across a washed-out area where a bit of water was running down into the lake. Around 8:30 pm, Mr. Lamb stepped down into the washed-out area and could smell the decomposition of a body. Mr. Lamb saw an evergreen tree and what appeared to be a tarp. There were a pile of dead weeds and branches laid out on top as if someone had camouflaged it with some foliage. Mr. Lamb pulled the north edge of one of the corners of the tarp and saw the legs and torso of a body. He described the branches being laid on top as being perpendicular to each other and looked like someone had picked fresh vegetation and lined it on top and the weeds had dried. Mr. Lamb then called the police. The body was later identified as Melanie Vachon. Given the decomposition of the body, there is no forensic cause of death. The expert evidence filed at this voir dire indicates that it is possible that Ms. Vachon was strangled or choked but there is no evidence of physical trauma.
[13] Officers who attended the scene and secured the scene testified at the voir dire. I will detail their evidence later on in these reasons.
[14] On June 6, 2018, Mr. Weldon was interviewed by the police. He said that:
On May 7th in the morning, Ms. Vachon was having a seizure;
She had her bag packed and was going to visit her friend – whose sister had passed away – for a couple of days;
She gave him a kiss and left; and
Mr. Weldon came out to the front door and saw a blue car, likely a Kia. He assumed that Ms. Vachon was being picked up by the friend because she would not get on a bus or go anywhere by herself.
[15] On June 19, 2018, Mr. Weldon provided a polygraph. He was interviewed after the polygraph and informed that he was deceptive in two areas. Officer Mitten told Mr. Weldon that he believed Mr. Weldon had harmed Ms. Vachon. After the failed polygraph, the police believed that Mr. Weldon was a suspect.
[16] On July 16, 2018, Mr. Weldon left a voice message for the police. He said that a girl approached him and said that she saw Ms. Vachon in Oshawa a couple of days after she left. Mr. Weldon said that he was trying to get her to contact the police. The girl said that Ms. Vachon was with a guy and they went into a car. On July 22, 2018, Mr. Weldon left another message for the police. He said that he believed that the girl was named Skylar and she said that Ms. Vachon was with two guys in a silver gray van and that Ms. Vachon was really messed up. This was the start of Mr. Weldon’s van theory that was expanded upon and repeated by Mr. Weldon throughout the undercover operation.
[17] On July 24, 2018, Mr. Weldon left a message for the police. The girl who saw Ms. Vachon is not named Skylar. He was trying to get in touch with that girl so she could contact the police. On August 5, 2018, Mr. Weldon left a message for the police. He heard that the girl who saw Ms. Vachon would be coming in to speak to the police. He also said that “well there’s some really weird stuff going on in Oshawa. So I think, ah I don’t know. Might be people, more than, more than one person here, I dunno, I have no idea but it sounds like these people are tryin’ to prey on one out there.” Mr. Weldon left a second message indicating that the girl was named Amanda. Mr. Weldon’s theory that Ms. Vachon’s death was connected to a string of other missing and/or deceased women down by the Oshawa waterfront was also expanded upon during the course of the undercover operation.
[18] On August 13, 2018, Mr. Weldon left a message for the police. He heard that Amanda had spoken to the police on Saturday and Mr. Weldon wanted to confirm if this was correct. Mr. Weldon said that he also discovered the general area where the van was hidden.
Overview of the Undercover Operation
[19] The undercover operation started on August 27, 2018. It officially ended on April 22, 2019 when Mr. Weldon was arrested on unrelated charges. The vast bulk of the evidence with respect to the undercover operation was led through an undercover police officer named UC2. He was introduced as Grant to Mr. Weldon. UC2 was present for almost all of the undercover operations. The second undercover police officer was named UC1. He was known as Jeff to Mr. Weldon. The undercover operations were identified during the voir dire as UCO1 to UCO51. Each outing with Mr. Weldon was identified as an operation. Although labelled UCO1 – UCO51, some of the undercover operations were cancelled, for various reasons. In addition, UC1 and UC2 only met Mr. Weldon during UCO3. The undercover officers met their handlers in the morning and would debrief after each operation. The handlers would monitor the operations live. One handler, Officer Graham, testified at the voir dire.
[20] Mr. Weldon spoke about Ms. Vachon’s disappearance and death, the police investigation throughout the operations, starting with his first car ride with UC2 and UC1 in UCO3. Throughout the operations, Mr. Weldon never stated that he caused Ms. Vachon’s death. In UCO51, after being shown doctored police evidence that portrayed his phone and Ms. Vachon’s phone down by the lake near each other, he admitted that he buried Ms. Vachon after she overdosed, so her family would not know that she died that way.
The Hiring of Mr. Weldon and the Landscape Business (UCOs 1-10)
[21] Mr. Weldon was known to the police to cut grass to earn money. The undercover officers had their first conversation with Mr. Weldon on September 4, 2018 (UCO3). The undercover officers said that they worked for a landscaping company. Mr. Weldon agreed to work with them doing various landscaping jobs. He was paid $20 an hour[^1] and sometimes UC2 and/or UC1 would pay for his meals. He was also given cartons of cigarettes to sell. He was to sell them for $25 a carton, keep $10 and pay back $15. UC2 testified regarding the various monies spent. UC2 testified that Mr. Weldon was free to accept other job offers and they would schedule his work around his other jobs. UC2 testified that he never discouraged Mr. Weldon from finding his own work. Mr. Weldon worked with the officers performing weeding, interlocking, sealing driveways, etc. A chart containing all the monies given to Mr. Weldon during the course of the operations either through wages, bought lunches or cigarettes is found at Appendix B of the Crown’s factum.
[22] Mr. Weldon was with the officers on September 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 25, 26, and October 3, 2018.
[23] Throughout the undercover operations, Mr. Weldon spoke freely and easily to the officers about Ms. Vachon. This started during their first drive together on September 4, 2018 (UCO3). While driving to Lindsay, Mr. Weldon told the officers, unprompted that:
He went to a pharmacy and downed a bunch of pills because he had four family members die in the past 24 hours and his old lady had not shown up;
Pretty much all his family was gone;
They found his old lady’s body a month and a half later at Lasco Steele;
He just found out that she was seen getting into a van with two guys; and
There are 45 women missing in Oshawa and they are all showing up at the lake dead.
[24] On the way back from Lindsay while in the truck, Mr. Weldon said that:
His old lady was on patches; and
She was robbed by three guys in a laundromat who broke her jaw in 6 places.
UCO12 – Collecting Money
[25] During UCO12, the undercover officers introduced Mr. Weldon to the illegal side of their business which involved collecting money from different locations. Although the exact nature of the business was not described, it would have been evident to Mr. Weldon that it was not legal.
[26] UCO12 took place on October 12, 2018. UC2 and UC1 picked up Mr. Weldon. They went and performed some landscaping. Afterwards, the boss called them and told them to go to Moxies restaurant. UC2 and UC1 went inside and asked Mr. Weldon to wait in the truck. They returned with a flash roll of $4000 and counted it in front of Mr. Weldon. They gave him $50 for watching the truck and another $40 for his landscaping work. UC2, with respect to the $50, said that there would be a lot more work like this. Mr. Weldon seemed happy. He did not ask any questions.
Katrina and the Lost Money
[27] During UCO14, Mr. Weldon discussed that he was having fun with a girl named Katrina. Mr. Weldon received a phone call from Katrina who informed Mr. Weldon that there was an issue with her bank. Mr. Weldon asked to be driven to Whitby. Mr. Weldon believed that Katrina’s drug dealer had taken the money. The officers were concerned that Mr. Weldon was going to attack the man who drained the account.
[28] UCO15 took place on October 24, 2018. UC2 and UC1 dropped by on Mr. Weldon to see how he was doing. It was an unannounced visit as Mr. Weldon had earlier expressed an interest in taking cocaine. Mr. Weldon was working, staining the floors. He said he had been up for four days renovating. Mr. Weldon was agitated about Katrina and the money. He had not sorted out the bank situation. The officers became concerned because Mr. Weldon threatened to kill the man who had taken the money. UC1 and UC2 suggested that they speak to the boss about how to handle the situation. They told Mr. Weldon that you can’t get your money back if the man is dead.
[29] Mr. Weldon said that he was going to meet with another man who had access to guns. At 12:30 pm, another man arrived. UC1 and UC2 left but a surveillance team followed Mr. Weldon. The surveillance observed Mr. Weldon enter a car with a man who was known to the police for having firearms. The undercover officers later convinced Mr. Weldon to speak with the boss to deal with this situation. The undercover officers were concerned that Mr. Weldon wanted to kill the man. The meeting with the boss was originally planned for that night but they were concerned that Mr. Weldon was intoxicated on drugs and alcohol so that meeting was postponed to the next day.
[30] On October 25, 2018 (UCO17), UC1 and UC2 brought Mr. Weldon to meet the boss, another undercover officer known as UC4. UC4 told Mr. Weldon that he heard that he was a good guy and wanted to assist. UC4 explained that he did not want Mr. Weldon to do anything that would bring attention to UC1 and UC2 and then back to UC4. UC4 agreed to loan Mr. Weldon $2000 to cover the problem and Mr. Weldon can work it off. On November 7, 2018 (UCO18), UC1 gave Mr. Weldon $500 as part of the loan. It appears that Mr. Weldon was never given the remaining $1500.
UC1’s Girlfriend
[31] Over the course of a number of meetings with Mr. Weldon, a story was developed whereby UC1 was upset because he believed that his girlfriend was cheating on him. Officer Graham, the handler, testified that a situation of domestic strife was created to mirror Mr. Weldon’s situation with Ms. Vachon. The idea was to present that, even though there were issues and trouble with the police, the organization was still willing and able to help. The presence of a “fixer” – someone who can assist a member of the organization who was in trouble – was incorporated into the story.
[32] UC1’s concern with his girlfriend started back on October 18 (UCO 14) and was repeated over the next couple of months. On January 3, 2019 (UCO26), the story evolved and Mr. Weldon was present in the truck with UC1 and UC2 when they caught UC1’s girlfriend kissing another guy. On January 9, 2019 (UCO 27), UC1 and UC2 attended at Mr. Weldon’s residence and ask him to provide an alibi, although the reason for the alibi was not given. Mr. Weldon agreed. They came back the next day (UCO28) and asked Mr. Weldon if he would assist them cleaning up the scene. Mr. Weldon agreed. UC1 and UC2 did not tell Mr. Weldon what happened, just that they were at a house and people fell. It is clear that, initially, Mr. Weldon believed that UC1’s girlfriend was killed. Subsequently he realized that something happened, but that she was still alive.
[33] UC1, UC2 and Mr. Weldon attended the residence but there was a marked police cruiser and crime scene tape so they could not enter the house. UC1, UC2 and Mr. Weldon then attended at Tim Horton’s to discuss the situation. Mr. Weldon explained that UC1 should erase all the evidence connecting him to the incident. “Anything you guys had on you last night, as far as clothing stuff, fuckin’ burn it. I’m serious, fuckin’ burn it, ashes. Not even a fuckin’ stitch left. If there’s any fuckin’ bodily fluids, any blood, anything, it’s gotta be burned.” Mr. Weldon explained that the longer it is until they find the body, the better it is for UC1.
[34] On January 17, 2019 (UCO29), UC1 and UC2 picked up Mr. Weldon and they travelled to a few landscaping jobs. While driving, a Durham Regional Police officer pulled the truck over. This was a planned event. While UC2 was talking with the officer, UC1 jumped out of the truck and ran away. The officer chased him while UC2 and Mr. Weldon drove away. UC1 then called UC2 and UC2 was able to pick him up. UC2 expressed that he was upset with UC1 for running. UC2 asked UC1 why he ran. UC1 said that he went back to the crime scene, got a bag but was stopped and had to talk with the police. UC2 told UC1 that they have to be honest with each other and they cannot take care of each other if they are not honest. They called the boss who directed them to bring UC1 to a hotel, which they did.
[35] The next day, on January 22, 2019 ( UCO30), UC1 explained that he went to see the fixer and he was able to help solve his problems. Mr. Weldon liked the name “fixer” and thought it was cool. UC2 and Mr. Weldon then drove UC1 to the Lindsay airport so UC1’s could leave town. UC1 said that if shit comes up don’t be an idiot like he was. UC2 told Mr. Weldon that you have to talk to the boss if you need help. Mr. Weldon told UC2 that he would tell UC2 if anything goes down with him. UC2 asked Mr. Weldon if he wanted to be his new number 2. Mr. Weldon agreed and stated that he was 100 per cent in. In a subsequent operation, UC1 returned and he was doing well.
[36] A continuing theme throughout the operation, emanating from the situation with UC1, was that Mr. Weldon needed to be honest with the organization and, if he was, then they could help him if he was in trouble. For example, in UCO38 on February 25, 2019, another undercover officer – UC6 – discussed that he was short $10,000. UC2 asked Mr. Weldon what they should do when there was a problem. Mr. Weldon said, “call the boss” and said that the boss solves problems.
The Van
[37] As mentioned earlier, Mr. Weldon, prior to the start of the undercover operation, had called the police and told them that he heard that Ms. Vachon was taken by a couple of guys in a van. He repeated this theory during his first truck ride with UC1 and UC2 at the start of the undercover operation. On October 3, 2018, Officer Dennis called Mr. Weldon and said that they spoke to Amanda and there was no van. Mr. Weldon was upset afterwards and said that the police had scared Amanda and that different people had told him about the van. During the course of the operations, Mr. Weldon said a number of different things about the van, including the following:
The van was the same description as the one that tried to grab a girl off Albert street;
That he spoke to his friend CJ who said that she told the police that Amanda was full of shit;
That his brother works for a news station and he was able to get a partial plate number off the van and that one of the persons getting out of the van had a spider web tattoo on his elbow;
That he received an address for where the van was located and that he attended the building and saw the van himself;
After UC1’s “girlfriend” was caught cheating on him, Mr. Weldon suggesting killing her and putting the body in the van that killed Ms. Vachon in order to frame those individuals;
That Dan and Phil, two corrupt cops, were involved;
That it was the mother of Adam Strong’s victim, who gave him the name of the corrupt cops, Dan and Phil;
That a person named Bear had given him information about the van; and
That, at one point, he was actually inside the van and that he saw plastic, shovels, and picks. Mr. Weldon said that he was careful not to leave any fingerprints. He could not take any pictures because the memory was full.
[38] On January 22, 2019, Mr. Weldon texted UC2 and told him that the police found the van and forensics was looking at it. On January 23, 2019 (UCO31), UC2 was directed to challenge Mr. Weldon’s van story. Officer Graham testified that they wanted to dispel the van story so that Mr. Weldon would understand that they would not believe everything he said and that if something was not true, they did not want to hear it. UC2 agreed to drive Mr. Weldon to the alleged address of the van. The address did not exist and the van was not in the area. UC2 told Mr. Weldon that the van story did not make sense. He told Mr. Weldon just to sit and think about it. UC2 expressed frustration with Mr. Weldon. Then UC2’s tone softened and he told Mr. Weldon that, even though he sounded frustrated, he was not mad at him. UC2 told him that the van story was fucked. Mr. Weldon agreed. When asked then why he believed it, Mr. Weldon said:
The only reason I believed anything about it is be…just for no…from the different witnesses, same description, same vehicle, five different people, don’t know each other. (Sniffs) People saw my wife getting into a vehicle. I got the same description from five people.
[39] Mr. Weldon agreed that it did not make sense and that it was perhaps wishful thinking on his part, and he wanted to see the people who killed his wife caught. Mr. Weldon then expressed his desire to kill those involved even if it took ten years.
[40] Officer Dennis, as part of a pre-arranged plan, then called Mr. Weldon. Mr. Weldon told him that he heard that the police were looking at the van. Officer Dennis told Mr. Weldon that there was no van and they are not looking for one. Mr. Weldon relayed this to UC2. UC2 asked what was going on. Mr. Weldon reiterated that he was in the van, he went inside and saw tools and plastic.
[41] UC2 continued to question Mr. Weldon about the van story. Mr. Weldon suggested that maybe the people who fed him the information were somehow involved with Ms. Vachon. UC2 responded with “give me a fuckin break”. UC2 told Mr. Weldon that he was being stressed out by this van thing and making his mind cloudy. Mr. Weldon said that he was going to stop digging.
UCO46-51
[42] On April 3, 2019, the police arranged for UC2 and Mr. Weldon to bump into the homicide investigators at the Tim Horton’s parking lot. The detectives told Mr. Weldon that he was a suspect. Mr. Weldon and UC2 went into his truck. Mr. Weldon was angry. He said that the police had also been bothering Ms. Vachon’s family because they had an insurance policy. Mr. Weldon told UC2 that he only learned recently that he was a suspect. The police did not have a shred of evidence. He did not do anything. He has never even touched or slapped her. She was the best thing that happened to him. Why would he kill her? If he did do it, he would have left nothing behind.
[43] It would have been impossible for him to get Ms. Vachon down to the water. He was only down at the lake once. He said that the dirty cop Phil was involved. He said that the van was there and that he was in it.
[44] UC2 reminded Mr. Weldon that they were there to help and they can call UC4. Mr. Weldon said that the Fixer can’t help because he “didn’t do shit” and there was nothing to clean up. There was no need to call the boss because he could not get in trouble. The police were trying to get him to breach his bail. Mr. Weldon was subject to a 9:00 pm curfew. This was a term of his judicial release from the pharmacy robbery. Officer Graham testified that the homicide investigative team conducted compliance checks on Mr. Weldon. The compliance checks were part of a stimulation technique to ensure that Mr. Weldon knew that the police were still there and still checking up on him.
[45] Later on, Mr. Weldon became upset because he needed money. He needed $700 for rent and $400 for his phone. Mr. Weldon said that if he did not have the money by 2:00 pm, he would be evicted. Mr. Weldon became very frustrated and thought he would go to jail because he would be in breach of his recognisance. He threatened to have a shoot out with the police if they came for him. Mr. Weldon became more and more upset. He asked if they could call the boss and ask for some money. They called the boss and UC2 explained. The boss said he would call back. UC2 and Mr. Weldon then went to hang out at the storage unit.[^2]
[46] Afterwards, UC2 drove Mr. Weldon home. Mr. Weldon was very concerned about being evicted and then going to jail. He said that he would be gone for 13 years. He threatened to kill the cops if they came to get him since he would be going to jail anyway. He threatened to shoot the landlord if he started running his mouth. The boss called and said that he can lend him the money for the rent. UC2 arranged to meet the landlord the next day with Mr. Weldon.
[47] On April 4, 2019, UC2 picked up Mr. Weldon from his apartment. Mr. Weldon was putting away spoons and needles. UC2 thought there was drug use. He noticed that Mr. Weldon had dried blood on his neck. They met the landlord. Mr. Weldon became angry because the landlord said that he owed $1200 plus $225. The landlord agreed to take the $700 as a down payment. Mr. Weldon became angry at another male. It looked like they would get into a fight. UC2 followed them outside and saw Mr. Weldon reaching for the rear of his back. UC2 was concerned that there was a knife there. UC2 put Mr. Weldon into the truck, took his knife and told him to sit there. Mr. Weldon said that the guy owed him $40 dollars. UC2 told him that there was no need to fight for $40. Mr. Weldon apologized.
[48] UC2 told the landlord that, if any other issues come up, the landlord should call UC2.
[49] UC2 asked Mr. Weldon why it was necessary for him to be on the cusp of being kicked out before he asked for help. He chastised Mr. Weldon for only giving him an hour’s notice and that he had to get ahead of things like the murder case.
[50] Detective Pillman, as planned, subsequently called UC2 seeking an interview. UC2 offered to be an alibi but Mr. Weldon said that he did not need any help. UC2 cautioned that this not be a repeat of UC1’s situation where UC1 was forced to jump off the truck and flee from the police. UC2 suggested that they ask UC18 (Jimmy) if he can get the police reports[^3]. Mr. Weldon agreed.
[51] A few days later, on April 8, 2019, UC2 and Mr. Weldon attended a meeting with other members of the organization. It was described as a family dinner. It was at the Homewood Suites in Ajax. Dinner was served. UC21 was the head boss. He spoke to the group and told them that if there was trouble they should contact their bosses before things get out of hand. He said that UC6 is now out of the group because he took matters into his own hands. He said that UC6 should not be harmed; just ignored if he is seen. UC18 told UC2 to go for the police interview but record it. Mr. Weldon said that he was not worried because he had not done anything wrong.
[52] On April 9, 2019 (UCO49), UC2 went for the planned interview. He recorded it and then went to pick up Mr. Weldon. He played the interview for Mr. Weldon. Mr. Weldon and UC2 spoke for over two hours. Mr. Weldon said that he had not done anything wrong but he agreed that he needed help. He said that he did not kill his wife and would not admit to doing so, just to stay out of trouble.
UC2: I love you like a brother and I, I want you around. And if, and if you need help, I, I need you to ask for it and talk to me. I, I…
JW: I just don’t know what there is to be helped with.
UC2: I…
JW: I didn’t do it. I don’t know what the fuck they’re thinking.
[53] UC2 then played his “interview” with Officer Dennis where he explained that the police had cell phone records placing Mr. Weldon and the victim together down at the waterfront.
UC2: No, no, no. Enough with what they told you. Because you’re callin’ on May eighth, saying she’s at Lakeridge Hospital.
JW: Yeah, I said that…
UC2: But you told me, listen…
JW: …to the phone company because she couldn’t, I didn’t know where she was.
UC2: (Sighs) We could go in circles all day long here. You just heard that buddy.
JW: Yeah.
UC2: You just heard that. You’re doing the landlord thing again. You’re doing the Jeff thing. Right now. Doing it. And you know you’re doing it.
JW: Well.
UC2: And I’m here for you. I’m worried about you because of this. Now they’re waiting for lab reports. This, like, think about this. ___ they started coming around two weeks ago again when they got this. They’ve been all over, everything. Talking to everybody.
UC2: Look at me. Listen. You’re doing it again. You’re doing it again. I need you around.
JW: I know that, Grant. I never gave her nothing.
UC2: Like…
JW: Nothing. I swear to god. Her medicine, that is all.
UC2: What do you mean, you never gave her nothing?
JW: But it’s in the lab reports, like their expecting something in there that’s…
UC2: Who knows what that fuckin’ means.
[54] UC2 stressed to Mr. Weldon the police evidence that placed him down at the lake and at the scene. UC2 was skeptical of Mr. Weldon’s explanations. UC2 said that he did not care what happened and that he just wanted to help.
UC2: They showed me the map, buddy. You’re not listening to me. Let’s think logically. You’re a smart guy. They showed me the map. He kept puttin’ his pen in an area down there. They know where she was found. They can put you at the scene, May eighth.
(Pause)
JW: I gotta look at this ‘cause there’s somethin’ fucked up about that.
UC2: What’d we…
JW: I…
UC2: It’s gonna be…
JW: I know…
UC2: …it’s gonna be too late to look into. Fuck what are…
JW: I’m ___
UC2: … we thinkin’ here?
JW: …here today. No because I, I…
UC2: What’re you gonna look into?
JW: I know I was not down there. Farthest I went was the bay where we fished that day and McDonald’s. That was as far as I went. (Pause) ___ fishing, I went to McDonald’s, got a double breakfast burrito combo. And I told them to go down and check the cameras and all down there, too, at the mall. At the, right down there ‘cause there’s cameras all over those buildings. And with the cell tower…
UC2: They told me…
JW: …is fuckin’ busy it bounces off a third cell tower.
UC2: Oh fuck, come on, man.
JW: That’s what they, that’s right out of their mouths.
UC2: You think that. ___ sayin’ that. They have printouts. I saw them. It’s nowhere near McDonald’s. (Pause) It’s gonna be too late, that they put handcuffs on you and then I can’t help you.
JW: Well I, what am I supposed to do?
UC2: (Sighs)
JW: Like I know where I was but, ah.
UC2: Buddy…
JW: The lines on the towers that they’re putting on that the…
UC2: …you know…
JW: I can’t…
UC2: …you know I don’t care if something happened. All I care about is getting you help. Do you understand that?
JW: Yeah.
UC2: Me?
JW: Yeah, I do.
UC2: I don’t care if something happened.
JW: Mm hmm. I know.
UC2: Right?
JW: Right.
UC2: But you’re, you’re not helping.
JW: No.
UC2: You’re not helping the situation.
JW: I don’t know how I cannot help the situation. I’m telling you exactly where I was. I, I never been down to the lake before. The bay that we fished ___
UC2: Oh my god.
JW: The bay we fished at and the McDonald’s is the closest I’ve been to that lake. And it’s the closest I’ve been.
[55] UC2 said that the police were breathing down Mr. Weldon’s neck. Mr. Weldon agreed and was happy to get help, but the only “fuckin” thing he knew was that he did not do it. UC2 said that, in order to ask UC18 (Jimmy) for help, he had to explain why.
UC2: Jeff, it’s okay, buddy. It’s gonna be okay if you let me help you. I just need you to understand that and I understand…
JW: Whatever I can do to help, let’s do it ___ (Sniffs)
UC2: Listen, I understand that this is a fuckin’, you know, shitty situation, but we can get through it. Look at Jeff. We sat down and ta…had fuckin’ dinner with him last night.
JW: Mm hmm.
UC2: Right? All he did was ___ too long, just like what you’re doing, but he asked for help. And help is there. It takes you…
JW: I’m sayin’, if, if there’s some way to help, let’s do it. Like if, I’m game for anything.
UC2: Okay, well...
JW: Well, I just don’t know what…
UC2: …we just need to go ask for help. But I just can’t call Jimmy and say we need help without explaining why.
JW: Mm hmm.
UC2: I can’t.
JW: I’ve got no problem explaining it to him.
[56] UC2 challenged Mr. Weldon on how he was coincidentally down at the lake where her body was found. UC2 told Mr. Weldon that he could not call UC18 (Jimmy) with “this bullshit”.
UC2: …Jeff, come on. You, you just happen to coincidently be right there where they found her body, on May eighth, two (2) days after she was missing?
JW: I don’t know exactly where they found her ___ put that ___ shit.
UC2: He, he…
JW: That’s how he ended up findin’ her.
UC2: Right. Exactly. And he’s showing me…
JW: And that’s not the right spot.
UC2: …he’s showing me the fuckin’ cell phone print out.
JW: Mm hmm.
UC2: You said a couple minutes ago, I want help and anything I do.
JW: Yeah.
UC2: You just said that, right?
JW: Yes. But I’m telling you…
UC2: You need…
JW: …exactly what…
UC2: No, you’re not. And I need you around. You’re my boy. And I can’t call Jimmy with this bullshit. You know that honesty’s the main rule.
JW: Yeah.
UC2: Jeff… (Sighs) …he was honest. He made the call and it got fixed. Right? Jimmy had some fuckin’ problems. He asked for help. They moved him away, they brought him back, he broke bread with us last night. What you’re doing right this second, with me, is not asking for help. This is fucking serious. They’re waiting for more lab results or somethin’. And it could be too late. It could be too late. Fuck, man…
JW: I know…
[57] UC2 told Mr. Weldon that he was not mad or frustrated but he loved Mr. Weldon like a brother and that he was throwing it away.
UC2: You don’t think they’re gonna match those up with where they found her body? (Pause) Listen, I get it, man. I’m not mad at ya. I’m not even frustrated. I just, I do…I don’t, I don’t know what to do.
JW: I don’t…
UC2: I…
JW: …I don’t know either.
UC2: …like, I love you like a brother and you’re just…
JW: Yeah, I know.
UC2: …you’re just throwing it away. You are throwing it away. What we have, you’re throwing it away. Friendship. Trust. If you weren’t tellin’ the truth, ‘kay? ‘Cause I lied, too. And we got past it, didn’t we? You put your hand on my shoulder and you told me it was gonna be okay. I sat here crying in front of you.
(Long pause)
JW: Yeah, well, whatever can be done, we can do it, right? (Chuckles) I just don’t know what. It’s…
[58] Mr. Weldon said that he was not going to jail for something that he did not commit, and that if he had to engage in a shootout he would:
JW: Because I’m not going to jail over somethin’, over a fuckin’ murder charge that I didn’t com…fuckin’ do. I didn’t fuckin’ do it, man. It’s my goddamn wife. I didn’t fuckin’ do it. And if they think they’re gonna lock me up for it, fuck them. There will be a goddamn gun fight. I never fuckin’ did it and I’m not going down for something I didn’t fuckin’ do. I don’t care if it kills me.
UC2: You’re not thinkin’ straight, man.
JW: Oh, I am thinkin’ straight. I’m not getting locked up for a murder on my wife that I didn’t fuckin’ commit. (Pause) I did not do this to her. And I’m sure as fuck not getting fuckin’ locked up for a, fuckin’ somethin’ I didn’t do. Everything thing else in my life that I did, when they fuck ___ I fuckin’ took to my ___ because I did do it. Everything in my life that I’ve done, I fuckin’ take responsibility for. (Pause) And there’s stuff that I coulda got away with, but no, I took responsibility for it. It’s like the shit at ___ house when I was young. There was no fingerprints. There was no nothing to put me there. I said, I did it and I fuckin’ told them I did it. I had a reason to do it. I said, well I did it. I do something, I gotta reason to fuckin’ do it. I did.
[59] Mr. Weldon said that he thought that perhaps Ms. Vachon was going to get some coke to self-medicate for her seizures. Ms. Vachon probably left her phone because she knew Mr. Weldon would not approve and he would call her. Mr. Weldon said that he spoke to Tim about the situation:
UC2: What? Who’s Tim?
JW: Tim owns a fuckin’ coke house, like, that was right, literally, the van was parked by Dairy Queen. There's a white house there…
UC2: Oh, my god.
JW: I saw ___ gone there.
UC2: We’re not talkin’ about this fuckin’ van.
JW: I didn’t say a van. I said she was seen, getting into a, she was seen getting into a vehicle between two fucking dope houses. And she was…
[60] UC2 then called UC18 (Jimmy). Mr. Weldon spoke to UC18. Mr. Weldon reiterated that he did not kill his wife, the police are making it look like he did and he was happy to get help. He said:
Anything we can do to help, I’m game. (Pause) Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. Any…anything we can do, man, anything you can help with, yeah, please. I need all the help I can get right now. Okay. Thanks, bro.
[61] UC18 (Jimmy) was then placed on speaker phone and spoke to UC2 and Mr. Weldon. He said that he did not care if Mr. Weldon did it, he was prepared to help. If Mr. Weldon wanted help through the legal system then he should go through a lawyer:
J: I’ve told Grant what you and I’ve talked about.
JW: Mm hmm.
J: And I told you, if you need our help, you need to ask for it sooner than later, if you wait too long, by then it could be too late.
JW: And I’m asking right now.
J: I really don’t give a fuck…just listen to me here. I’m…
JW: I, I…
J: Just telling you what I told Grant.
JW: Sorry, bro.
J: We don’t care if you’ve done it. If they have evidence that says you’ve done it, and you’ve done it, we don’t care, we can help you. If you are looking for help through a legal system, you need to go hire a lawyer.
JW: Mm hmm.
J: We’re not lawyers, we don’t do it that way.
JW: Yep.
J: We take care of our family. And if you did it, we don’t care, but we can take care of it.
JW: Yep.
[62] Mr. Weldon then continued to speak with UC2. He questioned the accuracy of the cell phone information that he was given. UC2 said that there was real evidence against him and that he needed to ask for help. Mr. Weldon said that he was asking for help. UC2 stated:
I need to go to Jimmy and the fixer with what happened and details so that we can fix this. Get you outta this mess. But sitting in there, going in circles about this stuff is getting us nowhere. We’re wasting time.
[63] The conversation continued:
JW: …I’ve told you exactly what I know. Yes, I need help. I’m not the one that killed her. That is the one bottom line that I know absolutely for sure.
UC2: Then how do we explain this stuff?
(Pause)
JW: I don’t, that I, I don’t know. They can take her shit to the lab and everything else. You’re not gonna find marks and shit on them from me. You’re not gonna find fuckin’ skin under her nails from me. Nothing like that, because it didn’t happen.
UC2: Well…
JW: Melanie’s not gonna just sit there. Like, you wanna go just downtown, or?
UC2: For what?
JW: Huh? ‘Cause I gotta go down and collect some money. (Sighs) (Sniffs) I have to go for four or five hours.
[64] Mr. Weldon said that if the police try and come and arrest him for something he did not commit, there is going to be a body count. UC2 implored Mr. Weldon to let him help and that he needed details of what happened so he could help. Mr. Weldon said that he did not do it. UC2 said that he can’t go to the Fixer and say you did not do it and then expect him to help, that is not what they are there for. Mr. Weldon countered:
You know, I didn’t do it but obviously they’re tryin’ make it look like I did. Or somebody’s told them shit that’s makin’ it look like I did. (Pause) I didn’t even know how she died. They haven’t even told me that. As far as I know, she was cut up in fuckin’ pieces.
[65] UC2 stressed that there was real evidence against him and that:
There's nothing we can do right now. Just wait for them to close in, I guess. I don’t know.
[66] Mr. Weldon said that he believed that the only way he could receive help was to say he did something he did not do. UC2 said that he did not want Mr. Weldon to do that:
JW: Honestly, the only way to help, is for me to fuckin’ come out and say I killed my wife that I didn’t do. (Chuckles)
UC2: If you're in this much shit because something happened
UC2: Jeff’s got your back through anything. Mike does, Jimmy does, Graham will or else you wouldn’t of been sitting at that table last night.
JW: Yeah. I know.
UC2: So it is that simple. If something happened, then just fuckin’ say so and we don’t have to go through all these circles again. We can actually deal with this. (Pause)
JW: (Sighs) (Long pause) Yeah, I’d like all the help I could get. Like, that’s the only way, that fucking things are gonna work is, me admit that I did something I didn’t do. Fuck.
UC2: I’m not saying to admit something that you didn’t do. I’m just saying, just…
JW: Obviously, she, she was…
UC2: …just…
JW: …found and I didn’t put her, I didn’t put her there. That I know.
UC2: All’s I’m saying is if something did happen, just, just give me the truth and we’ll take it. You asked for help. You heard it. You need it. You asked, you get it.
JW: Well obviously some…something’s happened and they're making it look like it’s me. They're trying every fucking possible thing…
UC2: Either that or…
JW: …they can.
UC2: …or something did happen and you can’t bring yourself to tell me…
JW: If something did happen…
UC2: …and I can’t…
JW: …I would. If I…very simple, yeah, if something happened, that would be easy.
UC2: …you can’t admit something you didn’t do, and I would never want you to do that. All I want is just fuckin’ straight up honest truth as to what happened and we can move past this, together.
UC2: Here’s what I’m gonna say. (Pause) Here’s what I’m gonna say. If we’ve been fuckin’ talkin’ shit this morning and it hasn’t been completely the truth, I don’t care, I’m not gonna be mad at you. You understand that?
JW: Yes, I do.
UC2: I am not going to be mad at you. You seen how mad I was at Jeff when he ran outta the truck and help that he needs, because that’s what we do. So what I’m saying to you is, this is simple. If you need help, if something happened, just tell me and I’ll make the phone call. If you need to go clear your head and go for a walk, then go for a walk. But I can’t just sit here and go in circles about explanations that you’re giving to the real evidence that they have. It doesn’t even get us anywhere. We’re wasting time.
(Long pause)
JW: (Sighs) I don’t know. I don’t fuckin’ know. Yeah, I want help with something. It, all I know, is I did not fuckin’ hurt her. I did not put her there. I know that. But that and everything else, I don’t remember times and dates and everything else ‘cause they fuckin’ confront me with this shit almost a month later. I don’t remember. I don’t write this stuff down in the calendar. I told them, I said when you go out, your wife goes out, you go to get cigarettes, you go to do this, do you know exactly what time it is? What day it is? What time that you go at? No. Well how the fuck am I supposed to remember all this? I didn’t even know nothing happened at this point. And then I get a call a day later, saying that she was seen with people drunk and fucked up. And two (2) of the girls, I have no idea who their names are.
[67] Mr. Weldon said that two girls saw Ms. Vachon at Dairy Queen and saw her get into a vehicle. The conversation concluded with Mr. Weldon stating that he wanted to go to the library to see if the phone and tower reports are accurate.
[68] On April 11, 2019, UC2 intended to go to Oshawa and see if Mr. Weldon wanted to meet UC18 (Jimmy). UC2 called Mr. Weldon, but his speech was slurred, he was not making sense and he seemed like he was falling asleep. UC2 tried calling him back but he could not get through. The operation was cancelled.
UCO51 – The Final Operation
[69] On April 16, 2019, UC2 went to see Mr. Weldon at 10:27 am. Mr. Weldon was sleeping. UC2 woke him up and Mr. Weldon appeared sober. Mr. Weldon had a couple of new bikes at his place. He told UC2 that he had people interested in buying them. Mr. Weldon said that he had a lot of work lined up for the upcoming week but that he had not had anything in the previous week. He then noted that he had done two yard cleanups on the weekend.
[70] UC2 asked Mr. Weldon if he wanted to go see UC18 (Jimmy) to get help. Mr. Weldon said yes. Mr. Weldon noted that they found two or three more bodies in the last couple of weeks.
[71] UC2 saw that Mr. Weldon had bumped his head. Mr. Weldon said that he had hit it on the stairwell. He was out for three hours. There were nurses and doctors, but no one called an ambulance.
[72] Mr. Weldon got dressed, UC2 drove him to get his medication, they had breakfast at the Sunset Grill and then they drove to London to see UC18 (Jimmy). On the drive, Mr. Weldon stated that he was being set up and said that two more bodies were found:
JW: It’s like they fuckin’, like, somebody’s literally tryin’ to set me up, and it’s fuckin’ pissing me off. Le…the guy that was in there, he said, somethin’s goin’ on because they found two more bodies yesterday.
UC2: Oh.
JW: The one up on Ritson Road and the other one somewhere else.
UC2: Really?
JW: Yeah.
UC2: Where’d you see that?
JW: It was on the news last night.
UC2: Fuck, I didn’t see that. I watched it after the hockey game.
[73] Later, Mr. Weldon commented that the police never returned the shovels that they took from him but noted that the same thing happened with Rory (Adam Strong’s victim):
JW: Well, Shannon’s mom said the same thing. Like, they took stuff, Rory’s mom, they just fuckin’, I completely lied to her and everything. She got the, um, what do ya call it? Up there in Timber ___ investigation or whatever. They’re goin’, goin’ after the cops. She’s got four or five of the cops they’re goin’ after.
UC2: For Rory’s thing?
JW: They’ve been lying, lying to them for, yeah, the mom and to the parents and the fuckin' family and shit. They’ve been bullshitting the whole time.
UC2: Hm.
JW: They, they, somebody else was talkin’ to me yesterday, said the same thing with her. There’s no way that fuckin' guy Adam STRONG ever ___ he couldn’t even lift that girl. But I, I talked to a fella that live, like lived in the house with them.
UC2: Yeah.
JW: Yeah. And that guy could barely walk around by himself. And…
UC2: Who, Adam?
JW: Yeah. And he’s not real bright. A real dopey fellow.
UC2: (Laughs)
JW: He’s a fall guy.
(Pause)
UC2: Fall for who, though? That’s weird, eh?
(Pause)
JW: ___ all the time. Dan and Phil, everybody keeps comin’ up and ___ Dan and Phil. (Pause) Like Kenny said that the other night, they took right off. Kenny said maybe you had to be like in your own fuckin', in your own building. He said, that he was ___ later on ___ car or not.
[74] UC2 noted that the dirty cop thing did not make any sense. Mr. Weldon countered that maybe that explains why they haven’t caught anyone and there are over 50 people missing:
UC2: Yeah, I don’t know, man, that fuckin' dirty cop thing, doesn’t make sense, though. Like, they’d be all over that wouldn’t they?
JW: You’d think so. But there’s also, look at how many fuckin' people are dead. There’s a lot. Like there’s over fifty people missing. There’s been seventeen down at the lake alone. Plus, down Ritson Road, like at the, at Ritson, Stevenson, uh, Celina. Like there’s another ten in there, been found in different places. Like, fuck the main path, kinda and the bike path. That’s what, like, the main, the main place for them.
UC2: That’s what?
JW: ___ like a real fuckin’ guy. They would have caught ___ killin’ fuckin' all these people
UC2: Well, yeah…
JW: And that would explain why nobody’s bein’ caught.
UC2: Yeah, I don’t know, man. Like, I don’t, I don’t see all those bodies, that you’re talkin’ about, on the news or anything, though, like.
JW: That’s the thing, though. People don’t talk, even with Melanie. I had two (2) girls come to me yesterday, never even knew about it.
[75] Mr. Weldon mentioned that, if he was going to go to jail, he would make it worthwhile and that he had twenty pounds of napalm ready to go off. Later on during the ride, Mr. Weldon reiterated that he was told that Ms. Vachon was seen in Oshawa getting into a van with a couple of people.
[76] After breakfast, UC2 confirmed that Mr. Weldon wanted to go see Jimmy:
UC2: I don’t know where he wants to meet. If he can meet.
JW: If he can’t, maybe we can do it after. Whenever, no whatever he can do. Sooner the better, though. I would just like to get things figured out anyways. I think they're just tryin’ to pull some kind of stupid scare tactic anyways. ‘Cause…
UC2: Well, I fuckin'…
JW: …like I…
UC2: …hope so.
JW: Well, I know there's no, there's nothin’ da…for me, found anywhere. I know that ‘cause, there isn’t. (Chuckles) Can’t find, can’t get the stuff from shit or do whatever, there's _
[77] UC18 (Jimmy) called and confirmed that he could see them:
JW: Cool. It’s no problem?
UC2: No, all he said…
JW: ___
UC2: …was his girl came through and, ah, he wants us to come to London. Are you good to…
JW: Yeah, yup.
UC2: …go to London? You wanna do that?
JW: Yup, I’m good for anything, man. I’m always in. You know that. (Laughs)
[78] UC2 told Mr. Weldon that he got a call from his landlord. Mr. Weldon explained that Kenny had a girl over who was making a lot of noise. UC2 and Mr. Weldon had the following exchange:
UC2: Well, at least he’s callin’ and tryin’ to set…sort the problem out instead of kickin’ you out, right? Give ‘em that.
JW: Yeah, but he’s callin’ tryin’ to get money that I don’t owe him.
UC2: He didn’t say anything about money.
JW: Surprised.
UC2: (Sighs)
JW: He’s bad for gettin’ first and last from people and then tryin’ to get them out of the building. Why he does it, I don’t know, but he does it to fuckin’…I mean I’ve seen probably thirty people in ten months.
UC2: Hmm.
JW: Yeah, he needs to talk to Kenny. Kenny’s the one that fuckin’ let her in. She stayed in Kenny’s room.
[79] UC2 apologized to Mr. Weldon for how he acted last week:
UC2: (Chuckles) (Sighs) Ah, fuck. Ah, man, I mean with all this shit goin’ on, like, it is…kinda wanted to apologize for last week when I was gettin’ kinda panicked and worked up. It’s just…
JW: I understand, man. Hey, I, like I…
UC2: You know what I mean?
JW: ___ just others. You know. Especially if you’re ni…like, I, like, I’ve been talkin’ to them. They’ve been at the house and everything else. And…
UC2: I’m just worried about you, that’s all.
JW: Yeah.
UC2: You know, and I…
JW: I’ve, I’ve dealt with him before, too. Like, this isn’t…
UC2: Like, I don’t know. I kinda got frustrated with ya and that. It just...I didn’t mean it that way.
UC2: Right? So, I just wanted to say I’m sorry for fuckin’, I was kinda given ya fuckin’ shit about it, right? …
[80] UC2 told Mr. Weldon that he was there to help. Mr. Weldon said that he has never asked for help his whole life as he has done everything himself. But “it’s what I’m doin’ right now. So, get ahead of this fuckin’ thing.”
[81] During the course of the ride, Mr. Weldon and UC2 talked about a number of things including:
Ms. Vachon’s drug use;
Drugs;
That Ms. Vachon and Mr. Weldon fought once because Ms. Vachon thought he had taken her drugs but it was her son John;
Women;
His tattoo shop;
Music;
Movies;
Cars;
Food;
Crystal; and
Ms. Vachon’s sons;
Arriving in London
[82] UC2 and Mr. Weldon arrived in London at 2:04 pm. They went to UC18’s hotel and made small talk. Mr. Weldon and UC18 had a cigarette. They returned to the room. UC18 showed Mr. Weldon the material that he received from his source. As UC18 started to talk, Mr. Weldon referenced Phil, the dirty cop:
JW: …mentioned she got into a vehicle with two people and there’s a, a cop named Phil, who’s got a spider web, right arm. Works undercover narcotics down there and he’s been fuckin’ around with girls, women down there.
UC18: Oh, okay.
JW: The girl that was chopped up, they threatened her mother. Said, help us with our investigation or you’ll be the next investigation. Her daughter disappeared two days later.
UC18: Oh wow. Okay. Um, like I said, as I go through this, I don’t know anything…
[83] UC18 went over the doctored police documents with respect to Mr. Weldon’s cell phone and Ms. Vachon’s cell phone. He then said that the police were going to get a GPS warrant and show a timeline of his phone before and after her death and it is going to outline the movements of her phone. He said that the police will continue to talk to everyone. UC18 told Mr. Weldon that the police are only looking at him as a suspect. The police are meeting with the Crown about laying charges. With respect to the GPS information, UC18 stated:
UC18: Uh, ROGERS has been notified…
JW: Mm hmm.
UC18: …that they hold records that displayed GPS locations within ten metres, at a thirty second interval. So that’s what they're gonna end up doin’ now. What they're gonna do, is they're gonna fuckin’ look at every thirty seconds, where your phone was, every thirty seconds where her phone was. They're gonna be able to track the movements within ten metres.
[84] UC18 then said that if he was innocent he should get a lawyer. If he had any involvement or was there, tell him so they could get ahead of it. UC18 said that they cannot help him if they lied to him.
UC18: They're puttin’ you with the phone right in the area where the body was. They're lookin’ at you for whatever and if you're innocent and you didn’t do nothin’…
JW: Mm hmm.
UC18: …uh, get a lawyer. That’s what I’m, my best advice to ya.
JW: I got a lawyer.
UC18: You got one? Perfect.
JW: I haven’t talked to him about it but ___
UC18: But if you had any involvement, dude, whether it be you were down there fa…you, you didn’t, you…I’m not sayin’ you killed her. I don’t know.
JW: Hm.
UC18: I mean, you…
JW: No I didn’t.
UC18: …you, only you know, wha…whatever. But what I’m sayin’ is, if you have any knowledge or you're involved in anyway, we can get ahead of this…
JW: Mm hmm.
UC18: …but we gotta get it, do it now. So if you want our help, um…
JW: Yeah, wh…I mean anything that we can do. Like you know, I don’t, I don’t know what else to do. You know…
UC18: Well, like I was sayin’…
JW: …I, I don’t even know what happened with her exactly.
UC18: Yeah, but they…I, uh, dude, they're puttin’ you right there at the, at the scene. And I…if you were there, you gotta tell me, ‘cause we fuckin’, we gotta get ahead of it. If, if you weren’t there, then you tell your lawyer, I wasn’t…
JW: Like, I was…
UC18: …but this is you and me here, bud.
JW: Yeah.
UC18: So, I’m sayin’ if, if you weren’t down there, tell your lawyer. But if you were there, we gotta get ahead of it. You can’t lie to me about this. I can’t help you if you lie to me. You know that.
JW: Yeah. I didn’t, I don’t know…
UC18: We got, we got ways to help…
JW: …exactly where she was. I don’t know if I was… (Laughs) …uh, yeah. (Pause) Fuck, I…
[85] UC18 and Mr. Weldon continued to talk. UC18 in a very calm voice said:
They have you right down there at the same times she’s dead down there. That’s my concern. And so if they have that, they're gonna look at you for homicide or, or fuckin’ murder or whatever they call it, or manslaughter or whatever. We got ways we can get ahead of things. (Pause) Uh, dude, I’m tellin’ ya, you, you gotta make a big choice. You know what you’ve done. I don’t. But you know.
[86] Mr. Weldon asked to look at the maps. UC18 said sure, and told him to take his time, there was no rush. Mr. Weldon looked at the maps. After some talking back and forth UC2 said:
I know that you loved this woman. I know that for a fact, that there's no question in my mind about that. And I wanna see you get help because you're, you're one of my best friends. Right? You know that. I love you like a brother. And you said something to me on the way down. You said, I think I’m gonna feel better. That meant something to me because you know how I felt when I got my shit off my chest to you…
….I believe you, and I apologize for the way I got panicked last week when I talked about it right after the interview. Like, I was fuckin’ strung out and you know it. Right? What I’m sayin’ is, if you have any involvement in anything, and keep in mind, I know you loved this girl. If you have any involvement in anything, we need to get out in front of it. You, you're the one that said that to me this morning.
[87] UC18 told Mr. Weldon to take a couple of seconds, told him that this was not the place to mount a defence and that if he wanted to mount a defence, he should go see a lawyer. The following exchange then ensued:
JW: Yeah.
UC18: And you listen to what Grant’s tellin’ ya, right, bud?
JW: Mm hmm.
UC18: There's three of us here. If you had any involvement, now’s the time to get out of it.
(Pause)
UC2: You know, we can move past this, and, and give her a proper send off. I know that, that’s been weighing on ya. And I know you wanna do that. (Pause) And I know that all of this, is a massive weight on your shoulders. You're bearing that, it’s all by yourself. You said to me on the way down, that you’ve never asked for help and now you are. And I know you are. But we can’t help if we don’t know what the details are and what happened that day.
JW: She fuckin’ O-deed.
UC2: Is that what she was already on the other side of that fence?
(Pause)
JW: Yeah (whispers).
UC2: Fuck, man.
UC18: Dude.
JW: She fuckin’ did…
UC2: Sorry.
JW: …too much fuckin’ fentanyl. And I didn’t know ___
UC18: That’s good. We can, we can get ahead of this and you can, you can do right by her now. Right?
JW: She did something else. I’m not sure what it was, but fuckin’, she did way too much of something.
UC2: I’m sorry, brother.
JW: So listen, I didn’t kill her. She did too much of something. I didn’t want her mom and dad knowing ‘cause fucking that’d, really kill them.
UC18: Yeah, you're right. Fuck you. You’ve been carrying this, bud, all by yourself?
JW: I’ve carried everything by myself through my whole life.
UC18: Not anymore, bud.
UC2: This has been a weight on your shoulders and I could tell it was there. Were you with her?
JW: No. I was walkin’ around fishin’. She was messin’ around doin’ stuff. Skippin’ rocks and dumb shit.
UC18: Being a girl.
JW: Yeah.
(Pause)
UC18: We can help you with this.
JW: What can we do?
[88] Mr. Weldon said that he felt better. He said that he moved her 10 – 12 feet.
[89] UC18 told them to get a bite to eat and head back to Oshawa. UC2 said that they will mull it over in the truck on the way back to make it easier for when they go to see the Fixer. Mr. Weldon said that it is actually straightforward. He saw her down at the waterfront. She had been dropped off. She was “fucked up”. Her meds were gone. Jimmy said that when Mr. Weldon speaks to the Fixer, he should lay it all out so he can do his magic. UC2 and Mr. Weldon then left. As they were driving to get a bite to eat, Mr. Weldon commented:
Ah, it really does feel better. Fuck, try to keep somethin’ like that ___ a fuckin’ year.
[90] Mr. Weldon said that it was almost good that something happened because her doctor could not give her any more prescriptions and he could not afford to buy them for her.
[91] UC2 told him that he knew that Mr. Weldon was carrying a weight. Mr. Weldon responded:
Yeah but there’s definitely, I just wouldn’t sayin’ anything, you know? I wasn’t gonna come out and lie about shit but I wasn’t gonna, I wasn’t volunteering information ___ information. (Pause) Another thing, like, her seizures were so bad, like, literally twice a week I used to have to call an ambulance and do C P R. She stopped breathing, when she was ___ I can’t believe that they would even think that I would fuckin' kill her. All I gotta do is sit on the couch, and I, I never thought about that until Christine (ph) said it. You don’t think about that ___ you don’t think about shit like that. She was in the washroom when I got ___ she was like, she stops breathin’ you know, every a couple of days when she has a seizure. She had to give her C P R, the same thing. That’s what she told the cops. She’s like I can’t anything… All I can do is sit on the couch and ___until it’s over. Like you don’t think of that…... Honestly, I, I thought I’d be dead before she was, man. I thought I’d be fuckin' gone before she was. I really did.
[92] UC2 and Mr. Weldon picked up some food from Harvey’s. Mr. Weldon then started talking about Ms. Vachon. He said:
She went down to the lake for some reason;
She was with somebody and they took off when they saw him;
It was an educated guess on his part that Ms. Vachon was down at the waterfront. He thought she would be down there getting fucked up because they used to get fucked up at the Oshawa beach;
Ms. Vachon was skipping rocks and trying to crawl over top;
She slipped in the mud;
She was staggering and couldn’t hold on to her purse; and
By the time he got over the fence she was already gone.
[93] Mr. Weldon did not try CPR because he believed that it was too late. He wondered if Ms. Vachon accidently or purposely tried to overdose.
[94] Mr. Weldon said that he buried her in a spot that had already been dug out from erosion. He wrapped her up in a blanket that she had. He shoved some dirt over her. She was flush with the ground. She was not above the ground. He was limited by what he had with him, which was a tackle box and some sticks. UC2 asked if he put anything on top of her:
Oh there was a lot of plants and shit down there. No, I even took like chunks of plants, like, outta the ground. Like, they were, I was standing up on top of her. So it looked like they were growing there.
[95] He placed rocks down to keep her covered good.
[96] He said that he heard that she was at a drug house in Oshawa so he assumed that she went down to the waterfront. When he saw her, she was walking down the path at the top of the bank and she had dirt on her. She was not wearing shoes.
[97] He went home, got rid of everything that he was wearing, got some dope and got really fucked up. He melted his shoes afterwards. He torched them and threw them in a garbage bin behind the building.
[98] They arrived back at Mr. Weldon’s residence at 6:20 pm. UC2 told Mr. Weldon to lay low, and to not get involved in anybody else’s problems. UC2 said that he had to call the landlord back because he was upset but Mr. Weldon should “fuckin’ lay low and stay in the house and leave the sign on the door with, nobody bug me.”
[99] After UCO51, UC2 negotiated another one-week extension for Mr. Weldon from his landlord.
April 22, 2019
[100] Staff Sgt. Dennis received a call just after midnight on April 22, 2019 from Officer John Hood. He was at home. Mr. Weldon had been flagged on the system. He was advised that Mr. Weldon had been involved in a stabbing and had barricaded himself from the police. Staff Sgt. Dennis attended at the scene. He was just an observer. He observed that Mr. Weldon set the building on fire. Mr. Weldon stayed in his bedroom for a period of time and then jumped out. He was on the ground floor. He fled on foot and rubber bullets were used to take him down and into custody. Mr. Weldon was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation and then released back into police custody. Officer Horner was sent into the cells. He told Mr. Weldon that this did not change things, that they are still investigating the death of Ms. Vachon and they are not going anywhere. Mr. Weldon was charged with arson.
[101] Staff Sgt. Dennis testified that, once Mr. Weldon was arrested, operation Grand Prairie was terminated.
Dissemination of Information
[102] Detective Trainor testified at the voir dire. She was the primary contact with Mr. Weldon. After a body was discovered, she asked Mr. Weldon for dental records. In cross-examination, Detective Trainor testified that they needed the dental records because they wanted to identify the person found. She did not and would not have said that the person found was unrecognizable. Officer Trainor subsequently informed Mr. Weldon that it was Ms. Vachon’s body that was found. She did not tell Mr. Weldon any details where Ms. Vachon was buried, how she was buried or what was found. Officer Maimer was present. He confirmed that they provided Mr. Weldon with no details regrading how she was covered or the location she was covered. He was just told that it was down by the lake.
[103] Detectives Trainor and Doyle did attend Rose Hazlett’s residence, where Officer Doyle seized a blanket as part of the investigation.
[104] Detective Dennis testified about the investigation and the disclosure of information. He testified that all the details with respect to the location and how Ms. Vachon was found was not public. He told the investigative team not to disclose this information. The police created an electronic file management system for the case. One file was created on May 18, 2018 when it was a missing person case and one was created on June 2, 2018. By June 4th, the file would have been locked down to only those working on the homicide. Officers from other divisions would not have been allowed access. The media release on the discovery of the body was made an exhibit at this motion.
[105] Detective Dennis spoke with Ms. Vachon’s parents, and her son Josh. Detective Dennis did not disclose any information about the case to them. It was very frustrating for the family. Josh once hung up on him in frustration. Detective Dennis spoke to Mr. Weldon twice on the phone and once in person during a bail compliance check. He did not provide Mr. Weldon with any details about the investigation. Detective Dennis did not tell Ms. Vachon’s parents the cause of death. He understood though that they contacted the coroner’s office and received some information but did not know what the coroner said. Ms. Vachon’s parents asked if they could speak to Mr. Weldon. Detective Dennis asked them not to. He could not direct them. Detective Dennis testified that evidence gathered at the scene was holdback information and this was discussed at the investigation meetings. He agreed that the term “holdback” is not found in the minutes.
[106] Officer Doyle first became involved on June 4, 2018. She was told that the information regarding the burial was highly confidential and should not be disclosed. This was told to the team continuously. She attended with Officer Pillman at Ms. Vachon’s parents’ home on June 5, 2018. The parents were told that it was Ms. Vachon. No details of the discovered burial were shared. Officer Doyle saw the parents again on June 18, 2018. Again, no details of the burial were given.
[107] On November 29, 2018, Officer Doyle conducted an external news media search on Ms. Vachon. She searched YouTube, Twitter, Oshawa news. There was no information on the burial or the items found with her. The news articles found were printed off and made exhibits. None of the pictures located in the search showed where the body was found. Officer Doyle found two Go Fund Me accounts. She also searched Ms. Vachon’s Facebook accounts. There was nothing in the accounts about the burial. She did not search Instagram or Facebook news.
[108] Officer Doyle searched the public accounts for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat. She could not search private accounts. She heard that there was a Facebook discussion about the case, but she was not allowed access. She did not know what was discussed.
[109] Mr. Pinder’s testimony from the preliminary inquiry was filed at this application. Mr. Pinder testified that he, after randomly meeting Mr. Weldon at the courthouse, conducted his own Google search. He ultimately found a discussion group that talked about Ms. Vachon. He joined. He had heard that Mr. Weldon asked the site administrator to join but was denied access. Officer Doyle testified that, on June 26, 2018, she showed another officer the scene. They were in plain clothes. There were some people in the area. There was some information that a person named Alana overheard a police radio when she was at the waterfront that stated that there was a bloody blanket.
Mr. Weldon
Sources of Income
[110] At the start of the operation, the police understood that Mr. Weldon was unemployed but that he earned some money mowing lawns. At no point during the course of the operation did Mr. Weldon have a regular job. However, there is evidence that he received money from the following:
He worked in September and October 2018 for Rose Hazlett renovating her place. He actually moved into her place in October 2018. According to Ms. Hazlett’s statement to the police, which was filed on this application, Mr. Weldon did a terrible job. It was not working. She kicked him out but paid him for his work;
On March 5, 2019, UC2 and Mr. Weldon went to an army surplus store and UC2 noticed that Mr. Weldon had several $50 bills with an estimated total of $500;
He made some money selling medical equipment;
At the end of UCO49, Mr. Weldon said that he had to go downtown to collect some money;
It appeared Mr. Weldon had other landscaping and snow removal jobs. For example, on April 16, 2019, Mr. Weldon said that, apart from two yard clean ups, he had not done anything in the prior week, but that he had a lot of work lined up in the week ahead.
[111] Mr. Weldon used to work in a tattoo shop. During the course of the operation, he talked about restarting that career. Also on April 16, 2019, he had two new bikes at his residence that he intended to sell. The operatives encouraged Mr. Weldon to work on his own as well.
Residence
[112] Mr. Weldon was living with Ms. Vachon when she disappeared. It was her place and he could not stay there. His living situation was not stable. He lived at Rose Hazlett’s place for a month. He then moved in briefly with Carmie, a female companion, before she kicked him out as well. On November 10, 2018, the police were called to that residence because Carmie wanted Mr. Weldon to leave. He then stayed for a short period of time at the Durham Mental Health facility. The undercover officers often picked Mr. Weldon up at Memorial Park. At the end of the operation, he was living at a rooming house at 195 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa.
Mental Health and Drug Usage
[113] The police believed that Mr. Weldon tried to commit suicide in May 2018. The Crown submits that this suicide attempt by Mr. Weldon was because he felt guilty for killing the victim. During the course of the operations, the undercover operatives would take Mr. Weldon to the pharmacy so that he could get his medication. Mr. Weldon informed UC2 that the medication was for anxiety.
[114] During UCO27, Mr. Weldon said that the police were at his house because someone thought that he would kill himself. He explained to the police that what was heard was merely lyrics from a song and that he was not trying to kill himself. During UCO30, Mr. Weldon said that at one point he had put a gun in his mouth, but it misfired. I also note that it is the defence’s position that the April 22, 2019 fire set by Mr. Weldon was another attempt to kill himself.
[115] Officer Graham, one of the handlers, testified that he was aware that Mr. Weldon was a drug user and that he used heroin and fentanyl and that he tried to make money to support his dependency. He testified that, based on his experience, heroin is a highly addictive substance and a person cannot function if you are “jonesing” for it. He saw no signs during the operation that Mr. Weldon was jonesing for a drug. He believed that during the course of a five hour day, one would see that. He testified that, for the operatives and Mr. Weldon’s safety, an operation would end if Mr. Weldon was under the influence. Officer Graham agreed that it was possible that, when Mr. Weldon was paid by the operatives, he would use that money to buy drugs. Officer Graham testified that drug use was a concern from the outset. But Mr. Weldon’s actions did not indicate drug use. He testified that heroin, crystal meth and cocaine all have obvious signs.
[116] All the operatives testified that at no point during any of the operations did they believe that Mr. Weldon was under the influence of drugs. However, it is also evident that there were concerns that Mr. Weldon was using drugs outside the operations:
In October 2018, Mr. Weldon texted the undercover officers and indicated he had not slept in 4 days and expressed an interest in using cocaine. The undercover officers arrived unannounced at his residence to check on his well being. Subsequently, a meeting with UC4, the boss, had to be postponed because Mr. Weldon was intoxicated. [Mr. Weldon was found laying down on the floor in a store.];
During UCO8, UC2 and UC1 drove Mr. Weldon to a doctor’s office in Brooklin because Mr. Weldon believed he would be receiving 500 Percocets for the month. Mr. Weldon returned without the Percocets. Mr. Weldon made a number of calls and left a message for his psychiatrist in the hopes of getting a prescription. Officer Graham did not believe that any doctor would describe that amount of Percocets but he agreed that Mr. Weldon may be addicted to Percocets;
During UCO34, Mr. Weldon fell asleep in the truck and was talking incoherently. Mr. Weldon said that his methadone dosage may have been messed up. UC2 testified that he appeared fine the rest of the operation;
During UCO45, Mr. Weldon removed cocaine and crystal meth from his pocket. UC2 chastised him for having it; and
UCO50, scheduled for April 11, 2019, had to be cancelled because Mr. Weldon was intoxicated. Mr. Weldon was in a harm reduction needle exchange program.
Social Network
[117] During the course of the undercover operations, Mr. Weldon spoke of having a number of romantic partners: Katrina, CJ, Carmi and Crystal. He also spoke of a female friend named TJ. It is apparent from the evidence filed at the voir dire that Mr. Weldon liked to talk and he talked easily with people he just met. Brian Weldon, Jeff Weldon’s brother, described Mr. Weldon as a talker.
[118] Mr. Pinder testified that he was at the courthouse on July 4, 2018, outside courtroom 104 or 108. Mr. Weldon sat in front of him. He had never met him before. Mr. Weldon told him that there were undercover officers all around and that they were interested in his phone. He explained that his wife or girlfriend was found down by the waterfront and the police were pinging his phone to see where he was. Mr. Weldon explained that he was always down at the lake fishing. Mr. Weldon told Mr. Pinder that the police took his tools, so perhaps his girlfriend was buried. They also took his axe, so maybe “they” hit her above the head with it and the police were looking for blood. Mr. Weldon told him that he had addiction issues and that his drug of choice was opioids. He said that he had a strong tolerance for opioids. He then described how he robbed a pharmacy and tried to kill himself by taking a high amount of opioids.
[119] Mr. Weldon was introduced to a different undercover officer, UC20, on March 27, 2019 during UCO44. Mr. Weldon and UC2 drove UC20 to London, Ontario. Mr. Weldon spoke to UC20 at length. He told him about Ms. Vachon, and that Mr. Weldon had a pretty good idea who did it. He told him that there had been several females found at the lake.
[120] A booklet containing the numbers most frequently contacted by Mr. Weldon during any weekly period was filed at this application.
Discreditable Conduct
[121] During the course of the undercover operation, Mr. Weldon referenced a number of criminal or illicit activities that he had been involved in. For example, he said that:
He collected drug debt money;
He sold drugs;
During UCO30, Mr. Weldon pulled out a number of stolen identification cards;
He had been a suspect in 6 murders over the years. He also said that he knew who committed the murders and where the weapons are buried;
He stabbed someone when he was 12 years old;
He beat up a guy who slapped his mother;
He threatened to shoot his landlord;
He threatened to shoot the police if they came to arrest him;
He had a pistol and an AKA at the house. He said he had 15 guns at Rice Lake. He has had them for 20 years and buried;
He smacked Crystal a few times and was very tempted to punch her out. He was going to cut her throat;
That Ms. Vachon’s dad asked him to get handguns; and
That he has a reputation of someone who will not back down.
Law and Analysis
[122] The police conducted a 9-month undercover operation ending with Mr. Weldon stating that he buried the victim after she died of a drug overdose. The statements elicited from Mr. Weldon to the undercover police officers as part of a “Mr. Big operation” are presumptively inadmissible. The Crown can only have that evidence admitted at trial if it shows, on a balance of probabilities, that their probative value exceeds their prejudicial effects. If the Crown discharges that burden, on a balance of probabilities, the accused may show that the confession was obtained by police misconduct amounting to an abuse of process.; R. v. Hart 2014 SCC 52 [2014] 2 S.C.R. 544; R. v. Keene, 2020 ONCA 635, [2020] O.J. No. 4299. A trial judge also retains a residual discretion to exclude evidence that compromises trial fairness, even when the evidence has not been screened out by the two-pronged approach: R. v. Hart, at para. 88.
[123] Chief Justice Strathy in R. v. Keene at para. 26 set out the concerns with Mr. Big operations:
In R. v. Hart, the Supreme Court of Canada set out a new two-pronged approach to the admissibility of inculpatory evidence derived from a "Mr. Big" operation: see also R. v. Kelly, 2017 ONCA 621, 387 C.R.R. (2d) 93, at paras. 25-33, leave to appeal refused, [2017] S.C.C.A. No. 474. Moldaver J., who wrote the majority judgment, acknowledged at paras. 3-9, that the current law provided insufficient protection to accused persons who confessed during Mr. Big operations and identified three concerns:
the unreliability of a confession obtained by threats or inducements;
the prejudicial effect of unsavoury character evidence that stems from the accused's participation in the fictitious criminal organization; and
the potential for police misconduct in the pursuit of a confession
[124] With respect to the concerns about the reliability of the confessions they produce, Moldaver J. said in R. v. Hart at para. 68:
First, because of the nature of Mr. Big operations, concerns arise as to the reliability of the confessions they produce. The purpose of these operations is to induce confessions, and they are carefully calibrated to achieve that end. Over a period of weeks or months, suspects are made to believe that the fictitious criminal organization for which they work can provide them with financial security, social acceptance, and friendship. Suspects also come to learn that violence is a necessary part of the organization's business model, and that a past history of violence is a boast-worthy accomplishment. And during the final meeting with Mr. Big -- which involves a skillful interrogation conducted by an experienced police officer -- suspects learn that confessing to the crime under investigation provides a consequence-free ticket into the organization and all of the rewards it provides. [emphasis added]
Positions of Counsel
[125] The Crown submits that, applying the factors set out in R. v. Hart, the probative value of Mr. Weldon’s confession that he buried the victim exceeds its prejudicial effect. The Crown submits that the traditional inducement seen in a Mr. Big operation are absent, as his admission was not motivated out of a desire to obtain some lucrative pay day, but rather out of a desire to be assisted by the organization’s “fixer” in escaping criminal liability. At the time of the admission there was little, if any, pressure placed on Mr. Weldon and he continued to proffer more information on his own during the drive back, and not the result of any interrogation. The Crown submits that the accused was not socially isolated and had a number of social contacts and romantic interests. The Crown admits that Mr. Weldon had a drug addiction, but that the police were careful to ensure that he was not intoxicated during any of the operations and the recordings of those operations support that he was not. Finally, the Crown submits that Mr. Weldon’s description of the grave matches the evidence.
[126] The defence submits that the Crown has failed to meet its onus. The accused was an individual who had no healthy relationships, was addicted to drugs, had mental health issues and tried to kill himself before the operation began and at the end. Mr. Weldon had little income and the money given to him through the operation, including the payments of his rent, operated as a strong inducement. At the time he admitted burying the victim, he was faced with pressure to say something, or the organization could not assist him with the police investigation. The defence submits that Mr. Weldon was unravelling from his drug use at this point. The defence submits that Mr. Weldon could have gleaned the accurate information about the victim’s burial from publicly available information. Furthermore, how can the Crown contend that the accused’s statement that he buried the deceased is reliable when they submit that the accused’s assertion in the statement that he did not kill the victim and that she died of a drug overdose is a concoction? Finally, the defence submits that the operation was an abuse of process as the police targeted an individual who had serious drug and mental health concerns and preyed on his vulnerabilities.
The First Prong: Assessing the probative value of the statements vs. their prejudicial effect
Assessing the Probative Value of Mr. Weldon’s Statement that he Buried Melanie Vachon
[127] Assessing the probative value of the evidence requires a weighing of the evidence that is typically reserved for the jury. As explained in R. v. Hart at para. 98:
The jury, as the trier of fact, is ultimately responsible for weighing evidence and drawing conclusions from it. The overlap of roles cannot be avoided, but this is not problematic as long as the respective functions of the trial judge, as gatekeeper, and the jury, as finder of fact, are fundamentally respected. In conducting this weighing exercise, the trial judge is only deciding the threshold question of "whether the evidence is worthy of being heard by the jury" and not "the ultimate question of whether the evidence should be accepted and acted upon" (Abbey, at para. 89; see also Paciocco and Stuesser, at p. 38). [emphasis added]
[128] As stated by Boswell J. in R. v. Lee, 2018 ONSC 308, [2018] O.J. No. 2721, at para. 17:
At the admissibility stage, trial judges are not concerned with the ultimate reliability of the confession. That is for the jury to decide. The concern at the admissibility stage is the threshold reliability of the statement: whether it is sufficiently reliable to warrant presentation to the jury for consideration. See Hart, para. 98; R. v. Khelawon, 2006 SCC 57, para. 50.
[129] Mr. Big confessions derive their probative value from their reliability. The inherent trustworthiness of a statement is assessed by looking first to the circumstances in which it was made and then to the content of the statement itself for markers of reliability: R. v. Hart, paras. 102-105; R. v. Kelly, 2017 ONCA 621 at para. 29.
[130] In looking at the circumstances in which the statements are made and the extent to which they call into question the reliability of the confession, the following factors should be considered:
The length of the operation;
The number of interactions between the police and the accused;
The nature of the relationship between the undercover officers and the accused;
The nature and extent of the inducements offered;
The presence of any threats;
The conduct of the interrogation itself; and
The personality of the accused, including his or her age, sophistication and mental health.
[131] However, these are just some of the factors that a judge should consider. The trial judge must consider all of the circumstances leading to and surrounding the making of the confession and “assess whether and to what extent the reliability of the confession is called into doubt,” R. v. Hart at para. 104.
[132] The trial judge must then consider the level of detail contained in the confession and whether the statement has markers of reliability. For instance:
• Is the statement detailed or vague?
• Does it include unpublicized details?
• Is it internally consistent?
• Does it describe mundane details of the crime that the accused would not likely know had he not committed it?
• Did it lead to the discovery of additional evidence? (R. v. Hart at para. 105, R. v. Lee at para. 26)
[133] As stated by Moldaver J in R. v Hart, at para. 105:
Confirmatory evidence is not a hard and fast requirement, but where it exists, it can provide a powerful guarantee of reliability. The greater the concerns raised by the circumstances in which the confession was made, the more important it will be to find markers of reliability in the confession itself or the surrounding evidence.
[134] Some discrepancies do not automatically mean that the statement should be excluded, nor does the possibility that an accused could have guessed or surmised those details. As stated by Feldman J. in R. v. Kelly at paras. 43 and 44:
The appellant was accurate about the precise location of the bullet wound, the number of times the victim was shot and the yellow rope, none of which had been revealed to the public. Although he slightly misdescribed the carpet that the body was wrapped in -- the actual carpet was grey with blue or black spots and 4.5' x 7' -- it had been dark when he grabbed the carpet and the description was very close. He also left out the details of a white cable and a plastic bag over the victim's head. These discrepancies could be weighed by the jury in their assessment of the reliability of the confession but, in my view, they do not detract from the significant level of detail that indicates threshold reliability: see, for example, R. v. Johnston, 2016 BCCA 3, 26 C.R. (7th) 147, at para. 68.
Similarly, the fact that the appellant could have learned or guessed some details from, for example, his encounter when he was being investigated by Inspector Graham in 2006 and shown an autopsy photo, was also a matter to be weighed by the jury in its decision as to the ultimate reliability of the confession: see Johnston, at para. 70 and R. v. Osmar, 2007 ONCA 50, 84 O.R. (3d) 321, at paras. 15 and 77.
The Length of the Operation and the Number of Interactions Between the Police and the Accused
[135] This was a lengthy operation. It started August 27, 2018 and ended April 22, 2019. It was approximately nine months. The operations are counted 1 – 51. The interactions with Mr. Weldon began with the third operation on September 4, 2018 with each interaction with Mr. Weldon essentially being considered an operation. Five operations were cancelled. Therefore, over the course of nine months, the police had 44 interactions with Mr. Weldon. In addition, some of the operations were unplanned and resulted from Mr. Weldon’s actions, unconnected to the police investigation into the death of Melanie Vachon. For example, when Mr. Weldon stated that he was going to kill the person who stole money from his friend Katrina, the police had to devise an operation to dissuade him of that idea. An operation had to be launched to deal with the real possibility that Mr. Weldon was going to be evicted for not paying his rent. On another occasion, Mr. Weldon contacted UC2 and showed him a picture of a gun he had to sell. An operation had to be launched to retrieve that gun.
[136] The interactions with Mr. Weldon occurred once or twice a week, although sometimes there were gaps of two to three weeks in between operations. The operations sometimes took place on back-to-back days, but never more than two days in a row.
[137] The length of the operation, in my view, does not in itself raise any concerns. The police were not applying pressure to Mr. Weldon for nine months to admit his wrongdoing. Rather, having listened to the operations, they can best be described as the police slowly laying the groundwork for operation 51. The buildup for operation 51 started in earnest with operation 46, which took place on April 1, 2019.
The Nature of the Relationship Between the Undercover Officers and the Accused
[138] UC2 was the main undercover police officer. He was present except for a handful of operations. UC1 was present at the outset of the operations.
[139] The defence submits that the relationship between UC2 and Mr. Weldon was almost that of father to son. I would not describe the relationship in those terms. I agree completely that Mr. Weldon viewed UC1 and UC2 as close friends, brothers. The themes of friendship, trust and brotherhood were weaved throughout the operations. UC2 was Mr. Weldon’s boss. I agree that Mr. Weldon was deferential to him and I agree that Mr. Weldon respected UC2 but I do not agree that Mr. Weldon viewed him as a father figure. He viewed him and UC1 as brothers. The relationship was not simply one of employee as, while most of UC2’s and UC1’s interactions with Mr. Weldon revolved around the landscaping and other organizational jobs, UC2 and Mr. Weldon hung out together at the storage unit. UC1 and Mr. Weldon also went down to the waterfront so Mr. Weldon could have a good-bye ceremony for Ms. Vachon.
[140] It is obvious that Mr. Weldon enjoyed spending time with UC1 and UC2. However, it is also obvious that they had no real impact on his behaviour and actions. He routinely told the undercover officers untruths with respect to Ms. Vachon’s disappearance and death. For example, he said that a female homicide officer came to see him with a psychic. The psychic said that the clue to what happened with Ms. Vachon was in some picture he had but he had too many pictures to look through. He told them that there was a Durham police officer in guns and gangs named Al. There was no such officer. He said that he actually called the police and asked to speak to Phil, but they refused to put him through. There are numerous other small examples of lies he told the officers. However, the best example of Mr. Weldon being unaffected by the friendship provided by UC2, and to a lesser extent UC1, was his continuous discussion about the van even though they made it obvious to him that they did not believe him, and it did not make sense. He persisted to discuss his van theory even at the outset of UCO51.
[141] The tenor of Mr. Weldon’s conversations with the officers remained remarkably the same throughout the undercover operation, and changed in substance very little, since UCO3. I will return to this topic when I discuss the personality of Mr. Weldon below.
The Nature and Extent of the Inducements Offered
[142] Mr. Weldon did not have a steady source of income either before the undercover operations or during the undercover operations. In that sense, any monies provided to him by the undercover officers has to be considered meaningful. That being said, the monies he received were minimal. Mr. Weldon was provided $670 for his actual landscaping work. He worked for that money. He was provided $490 for his work on the criminal side of the organization which involved attending various drop offs and deliveries. Towards the end, Mr. Weldon was typically given $40 for these attendances. He was provided with free meals and given the opportunity to make money selling cigarette cartons. He was also loaned $500 to deal with the Katrina situation and $700 to address his rent problem.
[143] While Mr. Weldon became UC2’s new number one guy when UC1 had to leave, there was no indication that there was some larger payoff from the organization in the future, as seen in some of the other Mr. Big Operations. Furthermore, Mr. Weldon did not work exclusively with undercover officers. He was always told he could work elsewhere and he did. At the outset of UCO51, Mr. Weldon indicated that he had done some work the previous week but had more work lined up the upcoming week. He also indicated that he had buyers for the bikes that UC2 saw at his residence. Mr. Weldon also talked about opening up his tattoo shop. I agree with defence counsel that Mr. Weldon tended to talk and there was nothing verifying his plans with respect to the tattoo shop. This is correct, but it seems undisputed that he had previously worked in the area, and it is an indication that Mr. Weldon was looking at other sources of income apart from the organization.
[144] In my view, the monies Mr. Weldon received during the operations did not transform or alter his lifestyle in any way or make any meaningful difference.
[145] Defence counsel submits that the police provided a powerful inducement to Mr. Weldon by paying his rent to the landlord and preventing Mr. Weldon from being evicted. The inducement remained because the living situation was only temporarily solved and UC2 told the landlord to contact him if there was other trouble. These actions had the effect of making Mr. Weldon reliant on UC2. Defence counsel submits that Mr. Weldon needed UC2 and the organization to maintain his living situation. I agree with defence counsel that Mr. Weldon was frantic and deeply concerned that he was going to be kicked out and, as a consequence, he would be found to be in breach of his bail conditions and sent to jail. However, given how the operations unfolded in the two weeks following, which I will detail below, I do not believe that Mr. Weldon’s rent situation played any role in his subsequent admissions by Mr. Weldon that he buried Ms. Vachon.
[146] The critical inducement at play was the promise by UC2, and the organization, that they did not care if he committed any crime, but they would help him cover up his involvement if he did as long as he was honest with them and told them what happened.
The Presence of Any Threats
[147] Mr. Weldon was never threatened. Defence counsel does not suggest otherwise. In fact, there were numerous times when the “organization” had to talk Mr. Weldon out of committing an act of violence. For example, the organization convinced Mr. Weldon not to attack the man who took Katrina’s money. UC2 stopped Mr. Weldon from getting in a fight with the man on April 4, 2019. When Mr. Weldon threatened on numerous occasions to get into a shootout with the police if they came to get him, UC2 pointed out the foolishness of the plan.
[148] In addition, Mr. Weldon’s place or employment in the organization was never threatened. He was never told that he was at risk of being kicked out if he did not say what really happened.
The Conduct of the Interrogation Itself
[149] Defence counsel submits that, in considering the circumstances surrounding Mr. Weldon’s admission on April 16, 2019 that he buried Ms. Vachon, I must consider the earlier circumstances, specifically what happened when UC2 and Mr. Weldon met on April 9, 2019. Defence counsel submits that at the April 9, 2019 meeting, significant pressure was placed on Mr. Weldon to admit some culpability and that pressure would still have been felt by Mr. Weldon a week later when he made his admission. I agree that all the prior circumstances of the operation, including the April 9th meeting, must be considered in assessing the admissions on April 16th. I also agree that the April 9th discussion was intense and that there was pressure placed on Mr. Weldon that day. However, any pressure placed had dissipated by the April 16th meeting and the objective evidence is that Mr. Weldon was essentially unaffected by the April 9th meeting when UC2 picked him up and drove him to London that day to see UC18.
[150] On April 9, 2019, after being interviewed by the police, UC2 met Mr. Weldon. He played the interview for Mr. Weldon. In my view, this was the only conversation where pressure was applied to Mr. Weldon by the undercover officers. UC2 told Mr. Weldon that the police had real evidence against him and that UC18 could only help if he was told what happened. UC2 told Mr. Weldon that he could not “call Jimmy (UC18) and say we need help without explaining why.” In response to one of Mr. Weldon’s explanations, UC2 said, “I can’t call Jimmy (UC18) with this bullshit.” UC2 scoffed when Mr. Weldon mentioned the van again and said, “We’re not talkin’ about this fuckin’ van.” Mr. Weldon said that he did not do it. UC2 said that he “can’t go to the Fixer and say you didn’t do it and then expect him to help, that is not what they are there for.” UC2 told Mr. Weldon that the police were going to come and take him away. Mr. Weldon said that he believed that the only way he could receive help was to say he did something he did not do. UC2 said that he did not want Mr. Weldon to do that and he told him that “you can’t admit something you didn’t do, and I would never want you to do that. All I want is just fuckin’ straight up honest truth as to what happened and we can move past this, together.”
[151] Mr. Weldon admitted no culpability during this tense two-hour discussion. As mentioned earlier, in my view, the landlord situation was not a factor in Mr. Weldon’s ultimate decision to admit that he buried Ms. Vachon. I find that, if the situation with the landlord was a concern to Mr. Weldon and he felt beholden to the undercover officers, one would have expected Mr. Weldon to make some admission, at this juncture, during this tense discussion on April 9th which was only five days after the incident with the landlord.
[152] A week later, on April 16th, UC2 drove Mr. Weldon to meet UC18 in London to discuss the situation. I have listened to the entire trip there, the conversations in London and the trip back to Oshawa. The tone was casual, relaxed, with everyone in good humor. There was no pressure placed at all on Mr. Weldon.
[153] Defence counsel properly submits that one cannot look at the April 16th meetings in isolation. I agree. Defence counsel submits that clearly, UC2’s comments on April 9th had an effect on Mr. Weldon. I disagree. It was obvious that UC2, on April 9th, expressed frustration and aggravation with Mr. Weldon’s stories. Yet, on April 16th, Mr. Weldon continued with the same stories. At the outset, he mentioned that two more bodies were found in Oshawa and that Dan’s and Phil’s names keep coming up and that there have been 50 missing bodies. Mr. Weldon even mentioned Phil when he arrived in London and spoke to UC18. It is almost remarkable how little impact the undercover officers had during these nine months on Mr. Weldon’s behaviour and the stories he told.
[154] In addition, on the drive to London, UC2 apologized to Mr. Weldon for giving him “shit” the week before.
[155] There was a brief conversation on the drive down with respect to Mr. Weldon’s landlord. But it does not support defence counsel’s submissions that Mr. Weldon was overly concerned about his living situation. UC2 told Mr. Weldon that he received a call about some noise and that the landlord was not calling about money. I see no reason why Mr. Weldon would not have been appeased by this answer. The rest of the car ride certainly reveals no angst or ennui by Mr. Weldon. To the contrary, Mr. Weldon, as he normally did during his car rides with UC2, spoke freely and continuously about a number of topics.
[156] In London, UC18 presented and showed Mr. Weldon the doctored police documents. He told Mr. Weldon that he was their only suspect and they are getting a warrant from Rogers so that they can track the two phones’ movements every 30 seconds. The conversation was casual. UC18, in a very calm voice, said that they can get ahead of things, but that only Mr. Weldon knew what he did. Mr. Weldon asked to look at the maps. UC18 said sure and told him to take his time, there was no rush. Mr. Weldon looked at the maps. After some talking back and forth, UC2 again apologized to him regarding how he spoke to him last week. UC18 told Mr. Weldon to take a couple of seconds and told him that this was not the place to mount a defence and that if he wanted to mount a defence he should go see a lawyer. The following exchange then ensued:
JW: Yeah.
UC18: And you listen to what Grant’s tellin’ ya, right, bud?
JW: Mm hmm.
UC18: There's three of us here. If you had any involvement, now’s the time to get out of it.
(Pause)
UC2: You know, we can move past this, and, and give her a proper send off. I know that, that’s been weighing on ya. And I know you wanna do that. (Pause) And I know that all of this, is a massive weight on your shoulders. You're bearing that, it’s all by yourself. You said to me on the way down, that you’ve never asked for help and now you are. And I know you are. But we can’t help if we don’t know what the details are and what happened that day.
JW: She fuckin’ O-deed.
[157] Mr. Weldon has a tendency to talk fast as evidenced by the recordings played on this hearing. However, his admission that Ms. Vachon overdosed was said in a slow calm voice. Some conversation followed. Mr. Weldon said he felt better. UC18 told them to get a bite to eat and head back to Oshawa. UC2 said that they will mull it over in the truck on the way back to make it easier for when they go to see the Fixer. Mr. Weldon said that its actually straightforward:
UC2: …we mull it over in the truck on the way back and I think that’ll…
UC18: Do what…yeah.
UC2: …might make it easier for you when you go to see Ian.
UC18: Yeah. Work through it all the way back. If I want…
JW: It’s actually really straightforward.
UC18: Is it straightforward, yeah?
JW: I, like I ran into her down there.
[158] Mr. Weldon then provided some more information. UC2 and Mr. Weldon then left. As they were driving to get a bite to eat, Mr. Weldon commented:
Ah, it really does feel better. Fuck, try to keep somethin’ like that ___ a fuckin’ year.
[159] UC2 told him that he knew that Mr. Weldon was carrying a weight. Mr. Weldon responded that he “wasn’t gonna come out and lie about shit but I wasn’t gonna, I wasn’t volunteering information.”
[160] UC2 and Mr. Weldon saw a Harvey’s restaurant. Mr. Weldon then initiated a brief discussion about Ms. Vachon:
JW: Yeah. Oh, yeah, Harvey’s here. I like burgers. I haven’t been there in a long time. I just like they actually, really fla…flame broil burgers. (Laughs)
UC2: Yeah. Well, let’s go in, have a piss, grab a burger.
JW: It’s why she didn’t, she wasn’t, didn’t have to be lifted over a fence. She came up from down by the fuckin', the lake. She was down there skippin’ rocks and shit.
UC2: Did she know you in there?
JW: Hm?
UC2: Were you already there?
JW: No, I came down there. She was, she was up, up on top of the hill, fuckin', already. She was all fucked up.
UC2: Yeah.
JW: There’s a, like a, a gulley that kinda comes…it’s where, it’s where the waters ran down the, and eroded it.
[161] After ordering their meals, Mr. Weldon again brought the conversation back to Ms. Vachon:
JW: (Laughs) Find that ___ soon. (Chuckles) I can’t believe it ___ and got like thirteen million fuckin’ dollars. ___ (Pause) Probably be a good message ___ message. (Long pause) Come on, come on ___ ah, fuck off. (Long pause) Yeah it’s really gonna be kinda wondering what the fuck she was doin’ down there exactly.
UC2: What’d you mean?
JW: She was being so fucked up when she was down there. (Pause) She was saying a lot of weird things too ___
[162] Mr. Weldon then provided more details on what happened. This conversation with UC2 was not an interrogation as most of the details were freely offered by Mr. Weldon with UC2 following up with clarification questions.
[163] As noted by Boswell J. in R. v. Lee, at para. 188:
The climax of many Mr. Big operations is a meeting between the target and the boss. The meeting is portrayed as a big deal. The power imbalance is clear. Often the boss exerts significant pressure on the target to make a confession.
[164] This was not the case here. While UC18 was higher in the organization than UC2 and Mr. Weldon, there was little if any display of the power imbalance and no pressure was exerted that day on Mr. Weldon nor on the car ride back to Oshawa. Mr. Weldon wanted to talk about what happened with Ms. Vachon and he did.
The Personality of the Accused
[165] With respect to the personality of the accused and how it should be considered, Moldaver J. stated in R. v. Hart at para. 103:
Special note should be taken of the mental health and age of the accused. In the United States, where empirical data on false confessions is more plentiful, researchers have found that those with mental illnesses or disabilities, and youth, present a much greater risk of falsely confessing (Garrett, at p. 1064).7 A confession arising from a Mr. Big operation that comes from a young person or someone suffering from a mental illness or disability will raise greater reliability concerns.
[166] The defence points to a number of concerns with respect to Mr. Weldon that must be considered in assessing the circumstances of his admission and which point towards the admission being excluded:
Mr. Weldon was a socially isolated individual without any healthy relationships;
Mr. Weldon had mental health issues and was taking medication for anxiety and depression;
Mr. Weldon was a drug addict;
Mr. Weldon was spiraling at the end when he made his admission;
Mr. Weldon attempted to commit suicide prior to the start of the operation; and
Mr. Weldon attempted to commit suicide after undercover operation 51 ended.
[167] The defence submitted in its factum:
In a review of Mr. Big cases, one would be hard-pressed to find a circumstance in which a suicide attempt was made prior to the operation, and a suicide attempt ended the operation.
The evidence will establish that towards the end of the undercover operation, the Respondent was clearly unravelling. On the second last undercover operation, the operation could not even continue due to the fact that the Respondent was incoherent. The Respondent was clearly spiraling downwards, which culminates in an alleged stabbing incident to someone in his rooming house and an arson charge, where the Respondent is remaining in a house that is burning with the police urging him to come out.
The potential abusive nature of these types of investigations is highlighted by the fact that the police attempted to "stimulate" the Respondent after his suicide attempt by attending his jail cell to attempt to continue the operation.
It is respectfully submitted that if one were to analyze the records provided in Appendix A of this factum, one would clearly see mental health issues that are a significant red flag for any such Mr. Big operation.
The Crown concedes that during the course of the Mr. Big operation, the undercover officers often facilitated the Respondent by going to the pharmacy to get his prescription drugs to control addiction and mental health concerns.
It is respectfully submitted that the analysis of this particular undercover operation would show that the reliability of the "confession" has been called into doubt by the circumstances in which it was made.
[168] I agree with defence that Mr. Weldon’s drug addiction and mental health issues were an ongoing concern during the undercover operations. I disagree that he was a socially isolated individual, that he was spiraling towards the end of the operations, or that he tried to commit suicide on April 22, 2019.
[169] The defence submits that, while there were individuals orbiting Mr. Weldon’s sphere, he constantly got into fights with those individuals and many of them had drug addiction issues. Hence, defence submits that Mr. Weldon had no healthy relationships. Assuming I could, it is not for me to judge the quality of Mr. Weldon’s relationships. What is evident is that Mr. Weldon is a social, friendly individual who enjoys talking to others, even people he had just met. It is also evident that while the relationships were not long lasting, throughout the operations, Mr. Weldon had a number of female companions. While he clearly got into fights with his female and male friends, that did not mean he was socially isolated. He spoke of having numerous other friends. I appreciate that the evidence reveals that Mr. Weldon tended to lie or exaggerate in this regard but he spoke of a female friend named TJ and the phone records do confirm that he had numerous phone contacts with TJ. Towards the end of the operations, he had a roommate, Kenny, with whom he seemed to get along. He had an earlier roommate named Dwight. The phone records reveal that he communicated with others, although I agree that, without more information, it is difficult to assess whether these were friends or something else.
[170] I also do not accept that the evidence presented at this application shows that the April 22, 2019 fire was a suicide attempt. I have been provided with very little information about this event. It seems undisputed that the police were called because of a stabbing, that Mr. Weldon set the fire when they arrived, that he then escaped out the window on the ground floor and ran away before being chased and stopped by the police. He suffered smoke inhalation. Defence counsel submits that these comments are consistent with earlier comments about going out in a blaze of glory if the police attended to arrest him. However, his escape out the window and his flight from the police seem like acts of self-preservation, not self-harm.
[171] I do not agree that Mr. Weldon was spiraling towards the end of the operations. There is no debate that he was very concerned about money at the beginning of April. There is also no debate that he was too intoxicated to meet UC18 on April 11, 2019. However, I do not see this as qualitatively being any different than earlier incidents where Mr. Weldon was concerned about money (the Katrina incident) and was also too intoxicated to meet UC4.
[172] The critical issue though, in my view, is that there is no doubt that, throughout the time of the operations, Mr. Weldon was also using drugs and he was also taking medication for mental health issues. The hospital records filed on this application show that Mr. Weldon was prescribed Alprazolam, clonazepam 2 mg and mirtazapine for an anxiety disorder. It is also not disputed that Mr. Weldon attempted to commit suicide in May 2018, shortly after Ms. Vachon went missing. However, UC2 , UC1, Officer Graham and Officer Dennis all testified that, while there were clear concerns about Mr. Weldon’s drug use, at no time, apart from the operations that had to be cancelled, did they believe that Mr. Weldon was intoxicated. I have listened to the tapes of the operations and I agree that the actual conversations show that he was not impaired. Furthermore, when Mr. Weldon was with UC2 and UC1 he was with them for lengthy periods of time and I agree that it would be difficult to mask symptoms of intoxication for an extended period of time. In addition, Mr. Weldon was described as a hard worker when performing the landscaping jobs. Furthermore, there are only a couple of incidents throughout the nine-month operation where Mr. Weldon appeared sleepy. The undercover officers agreed that it was always possible that Mr. Weldon could have taken something without them knowing it but they saw no such indications.
[173] UC2 was asked in cross-examination about Mr. Weldon’s illogical idea of obtaining a computer to use Google earth to see who was leaving a house when the incident with UC1’s girlfriend occurred. UC2 was asked whether he thought Mr. Weldon was high. UC2 said no, he just thought that was his personality and that Mr. Weldon tended to get obsessed over things. In my view, having listened and heard all the operations, I agree that Mr. Weldon tended to get obsessed and attached to different topics, as evidenced by his continued discussion about the van and the missing bodies.
[174] I have looked at Mr. Weldon’s personality and drug use and mental health issues to see if they made Mr. Weldon more susceptible to the undercover operation. In my view, they did not. In fact, I find that Mr. Weldon had a very strong, independent personality and he did what he wanted to do, even though they were objectively against his own best interest. For example, UC2 told him after UCO51 to lay low. He believed that the police were closing in, yet he became involved in an altercation at his residence on April 22, 2019 that led to his arrest. He persisted in discussing his van theory even though UC2, who he respected and trusted, clearly told him repeatedly that it did not make sense.
Markers of Reliability
[175] I must also consider the level of detail contained in the confession and whether the statement has markers of reliability. The Crown, at the outset of the voir dire, conceded that if the undercover operations were ruled inadmissible, then the post-arrest statement should be ruled inadmissible since Mr. Weldon only admitted that he buried Ms. Vachon after he was played the recording from UCO51. The Crown submitted in its factum:
Legally, because of the substantive connection and the causal connection between the playback of the UC Operation and the Respondent’s subsequent statement the Applicant concedes that even with the consultation of counsel this would not constitute a “fresh start scenario”; R. v. McSweeny, [2020] O.J. No. 32
[176] However, during the course of his oral and written submissions, the Crown has relied on additional details provided by Mr. Weldon during the post-arrest interview as confirming the reliability of Mr. Weldon’s admission that he buried Ms. Vachon. The Crown submits that I can still consider these markers in assessing the reliability of Mr. Weldon’s statement that he buried Ms. Vachon. The defence disagrees, arguing that the August 7th statement can only be considered if the undercover operation is admissible. To use the August 7th statement to find that the undercover operation is admissible and then use the fact that the undercover operation is admissible to find the August 7th statement is admissible is to engage in classic circular reasoning.
[177] The Crown submits that I can use these extra details provided not for the truth of their contents but for the fact that they were said. The Crown submits that I can consider the August 7th post-arrest statement on the voir dire because I am looking at initial threshold reliability, not ultimate reliability. The Crown relies on R. v. Paterson, 2017 SCC 15, [2017] 1 S.C.R. 202. R. v. Paterson is not an apt analogy. In that case, the Court found that the statement was being admitted to assess the officer’s state of mind. The Supreme Court of Canada looked at whether a statement must be proven voluntary in order for it to be considered as evidence on a Charter voir dire. The Supreme Court of Canada stated that it need not be. The Court explained that a Charter voir dire involved a review of the totality of the circumstances known to, and relied upon, by the state actor at the time of the impugned action. Only the state actor’s contemporary state of mind and conduct is at issue, and not the truthfulness of the statement upon which he or she relied.
[178] In this case, I am not looking at the officer’s state of mind. Rather, I am looking at markers of reliability of Mr. Weldon’s statement to the undercover officer that he buried Ms. Vachon. Those markers of reliability could, in some instances, come from a post‑arrest statement.
[179] I do not agree with the Crown’s submission that Mr. Weldon’s post arrest statement should automatically be excluded if the Mr. Big operation is ruled inadmissible. They are two separate inquires and much is dependent upon the reasons that the Mr. Big operation is ruled inadmissible. For example, if the operation was excluded because it was an abuse of process then a post-arrest statement that relies on the operation would follow a similar fate. However, this may not necessarily be the case, if the operation was excluded for other reasons. However, given the Crown’s position, I do not feel it would be appropriate to look at the post-arrest statement for any markers of reliability. However, I do think it is appropriate to consider whether the post-arrest statement contains any markers that detract from the reliability of Mr. Weldon’s admission during UCO51 that he buried Ms. Vachon.
[180] There are, however, a number of markers that confirm the reliability of Mr. Weldon’s admission that he buried Ms. Vachon during UCO51. They are as follows:
He accurately described the location of the body and grave, that it was a washed out area and that it was flush with the ground;
He stated that he wrapped her up in a blanket. She was found wrapped up in a blanket. I agree with the defence he would have known from his June 19th interview that she was covered with something. That being said, there are a number of things that could have covered Ms. Vachon. During UCO24, Mr. Weldon said that he believed that Ms. Vachon was covered with a blanket because the police had asked Rose Hazlett to look at one of her blankets. However, during the same interview he said that he heard that Ms. Vachon was covered with skids. During operation UCO25, he said that he heard that Ms. Vachon was covered with wood and skids as well. In my view, Mr. Weldon had a number of options to choose from and there is probative value in the fact that he correctly said that she was covered in a blanket;
He stated that he covered her with dirt, vegetation, pieces of wood and weeds. He stated that he stood some of them up to make it look they were growing there. This was consistent with what was found on Ms. Vachon’s body. I appreciate defence counsel’s submission that given that the police seized his shovel, Mr. Weldon’s description that he placed dirt on Ms. Vachon is really of limited importance but at the same time his description of the vegetation and weeds match the burial site;
He stated that he weighted the blanket down with rocks. Two patio style rocks were found at the scene;
He accurately stated that she was not wearing any shoes;
He accurately stated that she had her purse; and
He accurately stated during UCO51 and two other undercover operations that there were no physical signs of trauma on Ms. Vachon.
[181] Mr. Weldon stated in UCO51 that Ms. Vachon did not have most of her meds on her. In an earlier operation, he stated that she did not have any meds on her. However, Mr. Weldon stated that most of her meds were gone when, in fact, all of them were gone. But he also said that he did not check her purse. In addition, in his post-arrest statement interview, he stated that he did not check for drugs. In my view, given the various responses given by Mr. Weldon, the fact that Ms. Vachon was not found with any drugs on her is not a marker of the reliability of Mr. Weldon’s statement.
[182] Mr. Weldon also mentioned that Ms. Vachon had a pillow with her but no pillow was found at the scene.
[183] The defence points out that Mr. Weldon did not describe the positioning of the body. Ms. Vachon’s legs and neck were bent and her hands were behind her. He did not mention the color of her bra or that she did not have a coat. Mr. Weldon was never asked about the positioning of her body nor did he bring it up on his own. It is evident that, in this case, the police were expecting to set up another meeting with the “Fixer” to elicit more details. That meeting never happened because Mr. Weldon was subsequently arrested for arson.
[184] The defence submits that in the post-arrest statement, Mr. Weldon described the rocks as more patio style bricks. He said that this is inconsistent with the rocks found. I disagree. Mr. Weldon’s description of the rocks that he used is consistent with the two bricks that were found at the scene. The defence also submits that Mr. Weldon stated in his post-arrest statement that he buried Ms. Vachon’s purse wrapped with her. The purse was found buried but it was not wrapped with Ms. Vachon. I agree that this is an inconsistency, but not a significant one. In my view, the main point is that Mr. Weldon correctly stated that he buried the purse.
[185] I agree with the defence that no evidence was discovered as a result of Mr. Weldon’s admission. However, he did say that afterwards he got rid of everything that he was wearing. He melted his shoes afterwards. He torched them and threw them in a garbage bin behind the building.
[186] The defence submits that a number of these details could have been surmised by the public discovery of the body and that there were numerous police officers working on the file, making leaks much more possible. There was also a gap in time between when the body was found and when the area was sealed off by the police. The police media search conducted by the police was also quite limited. For example, they did not originally know that there was a private chat group that discussed Ms. Vachon’s disappearance.
[187] I understand defence counsel’s submissions that information about how Ms. Vachon was buried might have leaked out. However, there is no real evidence at this stage that it did. The police put in place processes to limit the information on the investigation to a limited number of people. The officers were told about the need to keeps things confidential. The police database was restricted and the news release just provided a general comment that the body was discovered down by the waterfront. I have no evidence that Mr. Weldon was told these details or obtained these details from any other source.
[188] On the other side, Mr. Weldon correctly said in UCO51, UCO23 and UCO42 that there were no physical signs of trauma on Ms. Vachon when she was found. This is consistent with the pathologist report. Mr. Weldon said that the police provided this information to Ms. Vachon’s uncle and he told Mr. Weldon. This does not make sense to me. Officers Graham and Dennis testified that they were unaware of an uncle. Even if there is an uncle, given the evidence I have heard about the police protocols and how this would be considered “holdback information”, I find it highly unlikely that they would have given this information to the uncle. Perhaps there is a more logical source for Mr. Weldon’s knowledge in this regard. However, at this stage, I find the fact that Mr. Weldon correctly stated that there were no physical signs of trauma to be another marker of reliability.
[189] The defence asks how can the Crown claim that Mr. Weldon’s admission that he buried Ms. Vachon is reliable when they submit that the circumstances in which Mr. Weldon describes finding Ms. Vachon and his statement that he did not kill her is false. The Crown is entitled to tender a statement and argue that parts of it are false and parts are admissions. Similarly, in a sexual assault case, the Crown can lead a statement where an accused said he had consensual intercourse with the complainant but still argue that the act was not consensual. In the context of a Hart application, the Crown in this case must show the markers of reliability with respect to Mr. Weldon’s admission that he buried Ms. Vachon. They are entitled to take the position that the remainder of the statement was false.
[190] The defence questions how any statement made by Mr. Weldon could be considered sufficiently reliable to merit admission given the numerous lies he told throughout the undercover operations, such as:
The continuing evolving van story;
His stories about missing and murdered women down by the waterfront;
That he has been a suspect in 6 murder investigations (the number of investigations grew throughout the operations);
That he gave tattoos to Avril Lavigne and LeBron James;
That he owned properties in Ohio, and one of them was fortress;
That he has a friend, Bear, who was a military officer or an OPP officer. Bear had a party where people stole guns from him and killed 2 Quebec police officers and another person in Whitby;
That he had access to all sorts of guns and explosives;
That a police officer visited him with a psychic and said that there were clues to Ms. Vachon’s disappearance in the photos he had but he had too many photos to look;
That one of his close friends was Mark, the president of the Hells Angels; and
That Adam Strong was involved in Ms. Vachon’s disappearance.
[191] The defence notes further untruths in the post arrest statement, such as Mr. Weldon’s claim to have tattooed 800,000 people and that he had available to him $250,000 in start-up money for a new tattoo place.
[192] It is patently evident that Mr. Weldon likes to talk. He talks easily and freely to people he just met, such as the undercover officers in this case, and to Mr. Pinder, who he met at the courthouse. I agree that many things Mr. Weldon said were false or unlikely to be true. The Hart voir dire looks at the effect of the undercover operation on the reliability of the ultimate admissions. It is evident that Mr. Weldon’s various stories were initiated by him and were not in response to any police action or conduct. In other words, Mr. Weldon’s various tall tales had nothing to do with the undercover operation and could have easily been told by him to anybody. In fact, Rose Hazlett, in her police statement, noted that Mr. Weldon tells a story about everything. It will be up to the jury, when it looks at all the evidence presented at trial, to assess the ultimate reliability of what Mr. Weldon said.
Prejudicial Effect
[193] Mr. Big Operations are invariably accompanied by prejudicial facts regarding the accused’s character. As stated by Moldaver J. in R. v. Hart at para. 73:
Putting these confessions into evidence requires showing the jury that the accused wanted to join a criminal organization and that he participated in "simulated" crimes that he believed were real.
[194] This bad character evidence causes both “moral prejudice” and reasoning prejudice. It creates a risk that the jury will reason, from the accused's general disposition, to the conclusion that he is guilty of the crime charged, or that he is deserving of punishment in any event and it distracts the jury’s focus away from the offence charged, toward the accused’s extraneous acts of misconduct; R. v. Hart, at para. 74. However, “the risk of prejudice can be mitigated by excluding certain pieces of particularly prejudicial evidence that are unessential to the narrative. Moreover, trial judges must bear in mind that limiting instructions to the jury may be capable of attenuating the prejudicial effect of this evidence.”; R. v. Hart para. 107.
[195] In this case, it is inevitable that the jury will hear that Mr. Weldon joined an organization that committed criminal acts and was able to get access to police information. The jury will hear that this organization was happy to assist their members in evading responsibility for criminal activity and that Mr Weldon was happy to receive such assistance.
[196] Furthermore, there is a significant amount of discreditable conduct that arose during the course of this 9-month undercover operation. However, a significant amount of that discreditable conduct was initiated by Mr. Weldon, had nothing to do with the actual police operation and can be easily excised and edited from the tapes.
Conclusion on First Prong
[197] In my view, the Crown has established on a balance of probability that the probative value of Mr. Weldon’s admission that he buried Ms. Vachon outweighs its prejudicial effect and is worthy of being heard by the jury. I say this for the following reasons:
a) While this was a lengthy undercover operation, very little pressure was actually placed on Mr. Weldon. Mr. Weldon would routinely talk about Ms. Vachon. He did so during his first encounter with UC1 and UC2. He was not asked about her, he just talked about her. He would do so consistently over the next nine months. Pressure was placed on him in UCO49 but it had no effect. UCO51 was a week later. There was no pressure placed at all on Mr. Weldon during that operation. Mr. Weldon was jovial and in good spirits. When he admitted he buried Ms. Vachon, Mr. Weldon’s place in the organization was secure. His admission came after he saw the doctored documents. It was not the product of any coercion or pressure and barely the result of any questioning or comments by the undercover officers. Before they left London, Mr. Weldon volunteered further details about what happened. Mr. Weldon then initiated the conversation about Ms. Vachon in the truck on the way. Mr. Weldon spoke about Ms. Vachon because he wanted to;
b) Mr. Weldon clearly used drugs during the time that the undercover operation ran. However, I accept the evidence of the officers, as supported by the recordings that Mr. Weldon was not impaired by drugs when they saw him during the course of the operations. His various stories about the van, Adam Strong and the missing women in Oshawa which were repeated, with some variation, throughout the undercover operations were the product of his personality. I note that the threads with respect to the van and the missing women were started by Mr. Weldon before the undercover operation even began;
c) Mr. Weldon received some financial benefit from the undercover operations; some monies, free lunches, cheap cigarettes; money for his rent. But the monies can, in no way, be viewed as transforming his life;
d) Mr. Weldon valued his friendship with UC2 and others but that did not seem to affect how he carried out his daily life;
e) Mr. Weldon was able, as set out above, to provide a number of markers that confirm the reliability of his admission that he buried Ms. Vachon; and
f) Given how the undercover operation unfolded, the majority of the discreditable conduct that was heard throughout the operation can be edited out and the jury can be cautioned with respect to the remainder.
Second Prong: Was the Operation an Abuse of Process?
[198] A trial judge can also exclude the evidence if they find that there was police misconduct that amounts to an abuse of process. The onus lies on the accused to establish that an abuse of process has occurred. As stated in R. v. Hart at para. 113:
The doctrine is intended to guard against state conduct that society finds unacceptable, and which threatens the integrity of the justice system (R. v. Babos, 2014 SCC 16, at para. 35). Moreover, the doctrine provides trial judges with a wide discretion to issue a remedy -- including the exclusion of evidence or a stay of proceedings -- where doing so is necessary to preserve the integrity of the justice system or the fairness of the trial (ibid., at para. 32).
[199] Moldaver J. provided the following guidance in assessing whether there was an abuse of process:
The mere presence of inducements is not problematic;
Police conduct, including inducements and threats, becomes problematic when it becomes coercion;
The police cannot be permitted to overcome the will of the accused and coerce a confession;
Physical violence or threats of violence are coercive police tactics and any resulting confession will not be admitted, no matter how reliable;
“Operations that prey on an accused's vulnerabilities -- like mental health problems, substance addictions, or youthfulness -- are also highly problematic (see Mack, at p. 963). Taking advantage of these vulnerabilities threatens trial fairness and the integrity of the justice system. As this Court has said on many occasions, misconduct that offends the community’s sense of fair play and decency will amount to an abuse of process and warrant the exclusion of the statement; R. v. Hart at para 117.
[200] The defence submits that the police preyed on Mr. Weldon’s mental health, drug addiction, precarious living arrangements and lack of income to obtain their admission over an intense nine-month campaign. Mr. Weldon attempted to commit suicide in May 2018 and then attempted to commit suicide again after UCO51. Even while in custody after the suicide attempt, the police approached Mr. Weldon and said that they were not going anywhere.
[201] I disagree. While the police clearly knew about the May 2018 suicide attempt, Mr. Weldon’s lack of employment and his mental health and drug issues, they did not prey on them or seek to exploit them. Throughout the operation, UC2 would drive Mr. Weldon to the pharmacy so he could pick up his medication. At one point, UC2 chastised Mr. Weldon because he missed taking his medication. UC2 told him not to do that. At various points, the undercover officers told Mr. Weldon to make sure to keep his head straight because he needed to work. On occasion, they stopped by his residence when they were concerned that he had consumed drugs away from them. Two operations were cancelled because Mr. Weldon was impaired.
[202] At no point did the police encourage Mr. Weldon to consume drugs or to not take his medication. Furthermore, the police did not try to isolate Mr. Weldon. Mr. Weldon clearly was allowed time to pursue his own endeavours outside the organization.
[203] While the criminal organization was portrayed as one that would help its employees avoid criminal responsibility if they got in trouble with the law, it was also portrayed as one that avoided violence because it was bad for business. The undercover officers, on a number of occasions, discouraged Mr. Weldon from using violence. For example, Mr. Weldon was told that it made no sense to 1) hurt the person who took Katrina’ money; 2) to carry a knife with him while he was working; 3) to get into a fight for $40; 4) to attack the police if they came to arrest him. Towards the end, it was revealed that UC6 was no longer part of the organization. However, its members, including Mr. Weldon, were told that UC6 should not be harmed.
[204] I have considered whether it was abusive for the police to even have started the undercover operation with an individual that they knew had attempted to commit suicide and had drug and mental health issues. In my view, it was not. The police had reason to believe that Mr. Weldon was involved in Ms. Vachon’s disappearance. The undercover operation was monitored by the handlers who were in a position to hear if Mr. Weldon was under the influence or unstable. The operation began four months after the suicide attempt and there was no indication that Mr. Weldon was unstable at the time it started. The undercover operation itself was nine months but it is not accurate to describe it was an intense nine months. Rather, it was a very slow build. Pressure was really only placed on Mr. Weldon during UCO49.
[205] Furthermore, I do not accept, as stated earlier, that Mr. Weldon’s April 22nd arson was a suicide attempt.
[206] In my view, society would not find the state’s conduct in launching and running this operation to be unacceptable and a threat to the integrity of the justice system. There was no abuse of process.
Conclusion on Hart Application
[207] The Crown seeks an order admitting statements made by Mr. Weldon during its Grand Prairie undercover operations. For the reasons set out above, applying the framework set out in R. v. Hart, the order is granted. However, the statements must be edited. The Crown cannot lead evidence with respect to:
a) The May 11, 2018 robbery or that Mr. Weldon was on bail at the time of the operations. The Crown can lead evidence that he was at the pharmacy and tried to kill himself;
b) The situation with Katrina and Mr. Weldon’s comments that he wanted to harm the person who took her money;
c) The argument with the gentleman on April 4, 2019 for $40;
d) Statements by Mr. Weldon that he sold drugs and collected drug debt money;
e) The fact that Mr. Weldon, during UCO30, brought a number of stolen identification cards;
f) Statements made by Mr. Weldon that he was a suspect in numerous other murders over the years;
g) Statements made by Mr. Weldon that he stabbed someone when he was 12 years old;
h) Statements made by Mr. Weldon that he beat up a guy that slapped his mother;
i) Statements made by Mr. Weldon regarding the various weapons that he had access to and that he wanted to sell a gun to the undercover officers;
j) Statements made by Mr. Weldon that he had access to explosives;
k) Statements made by Mr. Weldon that he wanted to shoot his landlord;
l) Statements made by Mr. Weldon that, if the police came to arrest him, he would engage in a shootout;
m) Statements made by Mr. Weldon that he smacked Crystal a few times, was very tempted to punch her out and was going to cut her throat;
n) The alleged stabbing and the fire set by Mr. Weldon on April 22, 2019 and his flight from the police; and
o) Statements by Mr. Weldon that he has a reputation as someone who won’t back down.
[208] With respect to UC1, the Crown is allowed to lead evidence of his flight from the police in UC29, his meeting with the fixer in UC30 and him being placed on the plane. The Crown is entitled to lead evidence that the purpose in doing so was to escape criminal liability for a serious offence. The jury does not need to be told that the serious offence involved UC3, UC1’s girlfriend. The Crown cannot lead evidence that Mr. Weldon stated that he was willing to harm UC3’s boyfriend or that he was willing to act as an alibi or assist UC1 in covering up whatever offence he committed.
ISSUE 2: Is the August 7, 2019 statement voluntary?
[209] Several of Mr. Weldon’s statements to the police were introduced on this voir dire. Furthermore, the defence agrees that, subject to editing for inadmissible and irrelevant evidence, the following statements by Mr. Weldon are voluntary and can be introduced by the Crown at trial:
Mr. Weldon’s May 18, 2018 statement to Officer Traynor;
Mr. Weldon’s June 6, 2018 statement to Officer Mamers;
Mr. Weldon’s June 19, 2018 post-polygraph statement to Officer Mitten;
The issue is Mr. Weldon’s August 7, 2019 statement.
[210] On August 7, 2019, Mr. Weldon was in custody for the April 22, 2019 arson charges. The Crown agreed that he could be released on those charges. He was brought to court and released. He was then re-arrested and charged with murder in connection with Ms. Vachon and brought to the police station. He was given his rights to counsel, spoke to counsel and then provided a statement to the police. Mr. Weldon denied any liability in connection with Ms. Vachon’s death until he was played a portion of his discussion with the undercover officers where he admitted that he buried Ms. Vachon because she had overdosed. Mr. Weldon then told the police that he had buried Ms. Vachon because she had overdosed. The Crown seeks to have the August 7, 2019 interview admitted if the undercover operation is ruled admissible. The defence submits that, apart from the linkage to the undercover operation, the Crown has not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the statement is voluntary. The defence submits that Mr. Weldon was exhausted when he gave his statement and had not been given his medication, creating an atmosphere of oppression. Furthermore, the police induced Mr. Weldon into giving a statement by holding out hope that they would provide him with his medication if he talked.
[211] On August 5th, 2022, I informed the parties that the statement is admissible subject to some editing for discreditable conduct with reasons to follow. In addition, during the course of the interview, Officer Rose had incorrectly told Mr. Weldon that he was inconsistent on a certain point with a prior statement. I ruled that that exchange had to be edited. Subsequent to my initial ruling, the defence asked that the portion of the interview which contained Officer Rose’s lengthy rendition of his theory of the case be edited out. The Crown agreed and I ruled that it should be redacted.
Circumstances Leading to the Taking of the August 9th Statement
[212] On April 22, 2019, Mr. Weldon was arrested for arson and detained in custody. In August 2019, the Crown agreed that he could be released on the charges. Mr. Weldon was brought to court on August 7, 2019 and released on consent. Mr. Weldon stepped out of the courtroom, and he was arrested for the second-degree murder of Ms. Vachon and indignities to a human body. Officer Taylor testified that he gave him his rights to counsel and the secondary caution. Mr. Weldon said he understood and asked to speak to Mr. Green or Mr. Balka. Mr. Weldon was escorted back to 17 Division and saw the booking Sergeant at 10:39 am. Mr. Weldon was then placed in a room. The officer called Mr. Green at 10:47 am. Mr. Balka called back at 11:28 am and the call was transferred to Mr. Weldon at 11:29 am. The call was finished at 11:49 am.
[213] Officer Taylor testified that he did not discuss the matter with Mr. Weldon on the way to 17 Division. He made no inducements or threats nor did any of the others do so. Mr. Weldon was not intoxicated, nor did he appear to be suffering from any mental health issues. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Mr. Weldon seemed a bit shocked upon arrest but afterwards he was cooperative and polite. Officer Taylor did not provide Mr. Weldon with any details of the investigation. During cross-examination, Officer Taylor testified that he had never met Mr. Weldon before so he did not know how he normally acted.
The Interview
[214] The interview started at approximately 11:52 am. Officer Rose conducted the interview. He went over with Mr. Weldon his right to silence and that he did not have to say anything. He went over and had Mr. Weldon explain the meaning of a threat, promise and inducement.
[215] Officer Rose told Mr. Weldon that he wanted him to be comfortable. He asked if he wanted a coffee. Mr. Weldon responded that a coffee would be nice, a cigarette would be nice and his medication would be really nice. Mr. Weldon said that the police took his medication from his house so it should be at the police station. Mr. Weldon said that it was for anxiety and post-traumatic stress. He said that the medication was at the jail and he was getting it while at jail. The following exchange occurred:
DCR: So, did you have that medication this morning when you were arrested?
JW: No.
DCR: Okay.
JW: They didn’t have it ready this morning.
DCR: Alright.
JW: Because they woke us up at five o’clock.
DCR: Alright. And how often do you take this medication?
JW: Three times a day.
DCR: Did…so, did you take a morning dose this morning?
JW: No, I didn’t.
DCR: Okay.
JW: I haven’t taken any today
[216] Mr. Weldon said that a cigarette would calm his nerves while he waited for his medication.
[217] Officer Rose told Mr. Weldon that someone would look into his medication.
[218] Officer Rose and Mr. Weldon discussed Mr. Weldon’s family. They then started to discuss Ms. Vachon’s epilepsy. Mr. Weldon explained that she was having a lot of seizures and that he knew how to recognize them. He explained that he gave Ms. Vachon CPR many times.
[219] Mr. Weldon said that he was tattooing for 27 years but he quit to take care of Ms. Vachon after the robbery. Mr. Weldon said that he was planning on opening up a tattoo shop today. Mr. Weldon said that he has given over 800,000 tattoos. He has given tattoos to Lebron James and Kid Rock. Subsequently he said that he had an investor and that he had $250,000 to play with.
[220] At 12:43 pm, Officer Rose exited the room to see if the food and cigarettes had arrived. While he was out of the room Mr. Weldon could be seen as complaining about his leg. He said, “Ah, fuck. Fuckin leg.”
[221] The officer returned a few minutes later and gave Mr. Weldon a cigarette and some food.
[222] They talked briefly about Mr. Weldon’s work and his past living arrangements. He was asked what he and Ms. Vachon did for fun. He said:
Lately, not a whole lot. Stayed at home, watched movies……Yeah, ‘cause she was just too self-conscious. If she’d have a seizure, seiz…seizures, and she didn’t like people seein’ her havin’ ‘em, so…
[223] He said that Ms. Vachon did like to shop and spend money on shopping. Mr. Weldon said that Ms. Vachon had fifty to sixty thousand dollars worth of purses and stuff there.
[224] Mr. Weldon said that Ms. Vachon was supposed to visit a friend whose sister was hit by a bus. Ms. Vachon left in the morning around 10:00 – 10:15 am. Mr. Weldon was in the shower getting ready for work. Ms. Vachon had had a seizure that morning. Mr. Weldon said that he:
Stopped her from hittin’ her head on the wall and the, and the table. When she come out of it, I gave her her medicine and stuff. She went out to the couch, and I went back and laid down for a while after she was okay.
[225] Ms. Vachon opened the shower curtain and gave Mr. Weldon a kiss goodbye. He got out of the shower to see who she was leaving with and saw the taillight of an Elantra. Ms. Vachon did not take her phone. She had dropped it and the battery died. Mr. Weldon told her to take his but she said that her friend had a phone and she would call him from there. Mr. Weldon later found the phone. He used barbeque tongs to retrieve it. Ms. Vachon took an overnight bag with her.
[226] Mr. Weldon was told that she was spotted in Oshawa getting into a vehicle. She was all fucked up.
[227] Mr. Weldon spoke to the friend whose sister was killed but she had not seen Ms. Vachon.
[228] Mr. Weldon said that he did not know what Ms. Vachon was doing. Maybe she was trying to self-medicate because of her seizures. It was also possible that she was in rehab. She had mentioned that.
[229] Mr. Weldon said that he heard that Ms. Vachon got into a car with two people in Oshawa, he lost it and then tried to overdose and kill himself.
[230] Mr. Weldon told Officer Rose that Mike Snead would buy pills off Ms. Vachon and that he would constantly be bugging her. He thought that maybe Mr. Snead was involved or the guys who robbed Ms. Vachon.
[231] Mr. Weldon relayed to Officer Rose his theory about the van, the dirty cop, the bodies down by the lake and Adam Strong:
JW: And then, I was told sh…you know, somebody seen her out in Oshawa, by Dairy Queen.
DCR: That was somebody else that told you that?
JW: Yeah. Just somebody that we know from the doctor’s out there. Somebody that we used to run into. They seen the signs up. And I…suppo…they supposably (ph) …the police talked to her. And they told me…I called in to inq…inquire about it. They told me no, no. (Pause) The vehicle doesn’t exist. That’s what I was told. That’s bullshit. I heard the same thing from four different people. And I also heard the same thing from that girl, Rori, that was killed, her mother.
The same vehicle was out by her house before her daughter went missin’. Same description. So, I don’t know how it could be told, ah, the police are…oh, we’re not lookin’ into it.
DCR: Rori’s mom had said that?
JW: Yeah.
DCR: Same car? To you? Or, to…
JW: She said, the people in the van told her, help us with an investigation, or you’re gonna be the next fuckin’ investigation. It was a cop.
DCR: This was Rori’s mom told you?
JW: Mm hmm. As soon as I said van, she knew the exact…gave me the exact same description. I looked it up in the internet. I’ve been doin’ research on it. There’s been over twenty bodies found along the lakeshore down there.
DCR: Mm hmm.
JW: There’s almost fifty of ‘em goin’ back to 2010, all the way from Montreal to the Niagara River Escarpment. (Pause) And that guy, Adam Strong, he’s a professional diver, and he also admitted it, that there was other people that were involved. I was on yard, right next to him. I talked to him for forty-five minutes.
[232] He said that the police spoke to Shannon, but they scared her and she did not want to be involved.
[233] Officer Rose exited the room and obtained another cigarette for Mr. Weldon. He asked Mr. Weldon if he needed a water or anything like that. Mr. Weldon said he was still good and he still had his coffee.
[234] Mr. Weldon said that he did not know exactly where Ms. Vachon was recovered. He went with a colleague and put some flowers down. He testified that there was a fence and that he could barely climb over it. They placed $250 worth of flowers. Mr. Weldon said that he and Ms. Vachon never walked along the waterfront. The only time they were there was at a Ribfest in Oshawa. Mr. Weldon discussed where he used to fish.
[235] Later in the interview, around 2:30 pm, the following exchange occurred:
JW: Is there any chance of maybe grabbin’ one more cigarette?
DCR: Yup.
JW: My, my fuckin’ nerve…I need my medicine, bad. My nerves are, are fuckin’ shot.
DCR: Okay. You know what? Why don’t I do that, and I’ll come back in, and, and talk to ya some more.
JW: Yeah.
[236] Officer Rose exited the interview to retrieve a cigarette for Mr. Weldon. Mr. Weldon can be seen sighing and stretching his leg. Officer Rose returned. Mr. Weldon said his leg was sore and said he needed to use the restroom. Officer Rose took Mr. Weldon to the washroom and then the interview continued. Mr. Weldon was asked to confirm what had happened when they were off camera. Mr. Weldon laughed and said, “I had a piss and came back.”
[237] Officer Rose questioned Mr. Weldon about his prior statement to Officer Traynor. Mr. Weldon explained that, at the time of the interview, he was off his medication for a long time. He explained that he had been hospitalized and he was not thinking straight. Officer Rose told Mr. Weldon that he told Detective Traynor that Ms. Vachon lost her phone the day before she left. Mr. Weldon disagreed. He said that Ms. Vachon lost her phone the day she left.
JW: I don’t remember her sayin’ she lost it the day before, and she don’t…I, I don’t remember…
DCR: No, I didn’t say that you lost it…she lost it the day before. You said, she lost it the day before.
JW: Oh. Someone’s confused because it was the day that she left…after she left, is when I found the phone.
[238] Mr. Weldon later added that he had, “no recollection of sayin’ the day before, ever. I don’t.”
[239] Officer Rose was mistaken. Mr. Weldon never told Officer Traynor that Ms. Vachon lost the phone the day before.
[240] Mr. Weldon recounted when Ms. Vachon lost her phone. He commented, “We’ve went over this and over this. I don’t know how many bloody times.”
[241] Officer Rose asked Mr. Weldon about his text to Lisa Fisher, where he told her that Ms. Vachon had left him a message saying that she was at a friend’s cottage. Officer Rose asked for an explanation. Mr. Weldon said, “I don’t understand it myself. I don’t remember.” Officer Rose followed up with Mr. Weldon, but Mr. Weldon repeated that he did not remember and he did not understand the text.
[242] Officer Rose asked Mr. Weldon why he texted Ms. Vachon’s son that he is worried that Ms. Vachon forgot her phone, when he knew that she had, in fact, left her phone. Mr. Weldon explained that at that point he had not slept for two days and he was not thinking straight.
[243] Officer Rose put to Mr. Weldon that he told different people different stories of where Ms. Vachon was. Mr. Weldon explained that is because different people told him different things.
[244] Officer Rose asked Mr. Weldon why he did not mention to Officer Traynor anything about Ms. Vachon going into van. At first, Mr. Weldon stated that he did not know about the van at the time. When Officer Rose pointed out that he must have, as it was the fact that Ms. Vachon was seen with two guys going into the van that made him think she was having an affair and caused him to attempt to kill himself, Mr. Weldon said that he did not know and that he was still fucked up at the time of that police interview. He was asked again and said that he did not remember and he placed his head on his hand for a while. When pressed, he raised his head and reiterated that he was off his medication, he had ended up in the hospital and he was not coherent. He later said that he was told that he took enough drugs to kill thirteen to fifteen hundred people.
[245] Officer Rose asked Mr. Weldon about his phone call to Rogers where he said that Ms. Vachon was in the hospital. Mr. Weldon explained that he gave a bullshit story so they would not cut off her phone.
[246] Officer Rose then started to explain to Mr. Weldon about cell phone towers. The following exchange ensued:
DCR: …….So, what we did was, we took all of your mappings. Right? We took all your cell phone tower hits, stuff like that. You followin’ me? I need you to stay awake for this. Okay, man?
JW: I’m, I’m tired.
DCR: This is important. Right? This is your day. This is an important day for you. Okay? And, I know you’re a smart guy, smart people listen. So, this is, this is one of the ones that you wanna listen to here. Okay? Are you with me?
JW: Mm hmm.
[247] Officer Rose continued talking about the tower information. Mr. Weldon said that it placed him in the area that he fished. The conversation continued. Mr. Weldon became more animated and said:
Yeah, and we went though the fence and fished through there. And I betcha my phone was probably down there. See, ‘cause the people lived in Whitby and they met me at McDonald’s.
[248] Mr. Weldon continued. He said that he never hurt his wife and he never went down to the lake with his wife. Officer Rose put to Mr. Weldon that he had previously hurt Ms. Vachon. He loudly denied it. It was put to him that he had strangled her for heroin. Mr. Weldon said that was bullshit.
[249] Mr. Weldon stated that he did not even know if Ms. Vachon was cut into pieces. He said:
JW: …nobody’s even told me if my wife was cut in pieces like the young girl that was down there. (Pause) There was even a girl found there, down there dismembered that I...you guys took ‘em out of my house at the wrong time while stuff was getting loaded up with axes and shovel, a shovel, and fuckin’, ah, branch cutters.
DCR: Mm hmm.
JW: Stuff that would be used to dismember somebody, right after a young girl that we were friends with was dismembered. And I still haven’t been told whether that happened or not, either. I don’t even know if that place I found was the right fuckin’ spot to begin with, and the flowers would still be down there because I ___ her because it’s plastic. And that would lead you to know the exactly.
[250] Officer Rose showed Mr. Weldon a picture of how Ms. Vachon looked when she was found. Mr. Weldon exclaimed that she had been cut up. Officer Rose explained that this was as a result of the decomposition. Mr. Weldon said that he “fuckin’ sure as hell didn’t put her down there.” He then said that he would find out who did and kill them. He then forcefully asked if Ms. Vachon was raped.
[251] Mr. Weldon said that nothing happened at their apartment and, in a loud yelling voice, said that nothing happened at the lake. Mr. Weldon told Officer Rose that he was going on minor inconsistencies.
[252] Mr. Weldon reiterated his story that Dan and Phil were involved, and that Phil was a cop. Mr. Weldon said that he was inside the van and that it had tools and plastic and that it was located at 275 Wentworth.
[253] Mr. Weldon was asked if he ever saw Ms. Vachon again after that morning:
DCR: So, when she left, and you, you know, this’ll probably have to generate a yes, or no answer. Did you ever see her again after you saw her leave? When you popped out of the shower, and saw that blue car leave? Did you ever see her again?
JW: I never saw her again. After she left the apartment, I never saw her again. Period.
DCR: Ever?
JW: Never. I haven’t even see her ashes. (Pause) Her parents and I agreed not to do anything ‘til these fuckin’ people are found.
[254] Mr. Weldon asked if he can have another cigarette. Officer Rose said yes, and then went to get the cigarette and some more water. While Mr. Weldon was alone he said out loud:
Fuck. They’re gonna fuckin’ suffer. I don’t care if it takes me twenty years.
And that’s my baby. The ___ she in, the ___ she in. (Pause) Fuckin’ twenty (20) somethin’ people. Still nobody’s found there. (Sighs) Was it Adam STRONG? He killed ‘em ___ They deserve it. Fuckin’ do this to my own baby.
(Pause)
I’ll kill these fuckin’ people and I don’t fuckin’…and I don’t care if I’m in jail for twenty years. I’m gonna find ‘em. (Sighs) When I find ‘em they’ll be gone.
I fuckin’ promised her parents ___ kids.
(Pause)
They probably raped her. I’m gonna cut their fuckin’ God dam balls off. (Sighs)
How could they do this to my baby?
(Pause)
Oh God. I gotta get to a phone ___ they’re gonna die.
[255] Officer Rose returned to the room and gave Mr. Weldon a bottle of water and a cigarette. Officer Rose told Mr. Weldon that he was lying. Officer Rose said:
“Five and a half hours, and I’ve been just sitting here listenin’ to you, Jeff, and I’ve been thinkin’ the stuff that’s come out of your mouth is just complete bullshit.”
“You think I just sat here and soaked all your shit in for the last six hours without coming into it with some iota of what actually transpired? What actually people said. What the text messages read. What the mapping said. All that stuff, you think I just sat here and just went, ho hum, ya, you’re right. I just listened to you. I just listened to your bullshit and lies for the last how many hours.”
[256] At 5:26 pm, Officer Rose played a portion of UCO51 to Mr. Weldon, while Mr. Weldon smoked his cigarette.
[257] Mr. Weldon said that he was not lying, he did not kill Ms. Vachon. She was down at the beach overdosing. A car was driving away. Someone had given her too much heroin. With his head on both hands Mr. Weldon said:
She was fuckin’ unconscious and I couldn’t do shit. Even if I tried to give her CPR, she would’ve been a fuckin’ vegetable. (Sighs) I think they gave her a fuckin’ hot shot, or somethin’. (Long pause) I didn’t want her fuckin’ family to know that she was doin’ it.
[258] Mr. Weldon said that he wanted the people she was with found. Officer Rose said that he could not make any promises.
[259] Mr. Weldon said that he saw her by the beach. There was a car in the parking lot. She crawled up the embankment in the washed out area. She was all “staggering and shit”. He took the bike down to the grass and confirmed that it was her. She was acting loopy, skipping rocks. At the same time, he saw a damn blue car speeding off. He believed that the driver recognized him. Mr. Weldon said that it took him five minutes to get over the fence. He had gotten a tip that she was in a vehicle with some people.
[260] Mr. Weldon said that:
I didn’t want her parents knowin’ she was fuckin’ doin’ dope. I didn’t want her fuckin’ good name messed up. Her mom and dad didn’t not wa……and I didn’t want to fuckin’ spatter her good name……It’s my wife. She was talkin’ about killin’ herself and shit like that a few days before. She was havin’ so many seizures she just kept sayin’ she just wanted to die. I don’t know whether she did it…inten…intentionally, or they gave it to her.
[261] Mr. Weldon said that when he got over the fence he saw that she did not have any shoes on. Mr. Weldon attempted to show, by reference to the maps where he was and where he saw Ms. Vachon. He then got up to physically demonstrate.
[262] Mr. Weldon testified that he dumped his bike and ran to her. She had stopped breathing, there was no conversation.
[263] Mr. Weldon stated that he saw her alone but he also said that he thought there was somebody else down there:
JW: …I thought there was somebody else down there.
DCR: You already saw her, that she was on her own. And you saw her again, that she was on her own.
JW: Yeah, I did.
DCR: Twice. And you’ve already saw…
JW: And she never, and she never…
DCR: …wait a second here. And you’ve already saw the car take off.
JW: Ah.
DCR: So, that doesn’t make any sense. You saw her alone, twice.
JW: I didn’t know what the fuck was goin’ on.
DCR: Okay?
[264] Officer Rose challenged Mr. Weldon and stated that his story did not make sense. Mr. Weldon asked for his medication:
DCR: Mm hmm. (Pause) You know this is not makin’ sense, right? I know you’re tryin’ to make it up on the fly, but it’s not working. This is your opportunity to be honest, Jeff. Okay? This is not working out. You change the story three different times, as to how many times you went across Water Street. Where you first saw her. Where you didn’t see her.
JW: I just remember goin’ down… (Sighs)
DCR: Between here and there. I first saw her here. I didn’t think she was alone, that’s why I didn’t approach her. There’s no fence at that…the particular part where the, the, the playground is. It’s not makin’ sense.
JW: I’m not thinkin’…
DCR: You need to.
JW: …straight at this moment.
DCR: You need to think straight. This is very important…
JW: I need my meds.
[265] The officer continued to challenge Mr. Weldon. He said:
Stop bullshittin’ me. In the face of all this, ‘kay, you bullshitted me from the first time we sat down here today. You did…fed me nothin’ but enough bullshit and I sat there, quiet and listened to it, time and time again. How you twist your stories and turned your stories to try and make it fit. But it doesn’t fit, Jeff.
We’re at that point where it doesn’t fit. Okay? You heard the recording. You heard the recording. And what you’re tellin’ me here, and how this all played out, is not fitting. Don’t take me for a fool.
[266] Mr. Weldon explained that at the time he was panicking and he does not remember exactly.
[267] Mr. Weldon stated that he threw his fish and tackle box over the fence. He did so, “It wasn’t to bury her. I was just carryin’ it, so I didn’t, didn’t leave it in the middle of the fuckin’ path where she fell.”
[268] Mr. Weldon said that he did not give her CPR because she was already turning blue. He understood that as soon as that happens, there is brain damage and she would have been a vegetable. When you turn blue there is no oxygen to the brain.
[269] Officer Rose told Mr. Weldon that all the people he worked with were actually undercover police officers. The landscaping company did not exist, the collections were fake. Mr. Weldon asked who were the people in the “god damn car.”
[270] Officer Rose sarcastically told Mr. Weldon that he was some husband. Mr. Weldon responded:
Fuck off. I had no clue she was gonna die. She fell asleep in her God damn birthday cake and woke back up. She was always doin’ that stuff.
[271] Mr. Weldon said that he was told by a hooker named Krista that he knew, about Ms. Vachon’s whereabouts. He said that the person called him from someone else’s phone. She called him 90 minutes earlier. He started looking for her at Oshawa beach. He was challenged on the timeline. Mr. Weldon stated:
It was the second day…two days after she left the house, she was spotted goin’ south. (Pause) I was told she was goin’ down to the fuckin’ south end with some guys. (Pause) And they were all fucked up. (Pause) I think they were doin’ her med…all her medic…she had, like, twenty fentanyl patches on her. I think they were sellin’ ‘em, or whatever, doin’ heroin and fu…probably crack. (Pause) That’s what she’d do when she went to DeeDee’s the one time when she disappeared on me. She was at DeeDee’s smokin’ crack for three fuckin’ days.
[272] Mr. Weldon said that he did not harm her. He could have gotten to Ms. Vachon quicker but he did not know she was dying. He thought she was nodding off like she did at the house “every fuckin day that she did shit.”
[273] Shortly thereafter, Mr. Weldon asked for and was taken to the washroom.
[274] Mr. Weldon explained that he has seen Ms. Vachon stop breathing before when she had her seizures, but this time was different. Mr. Weldon started crying and stated:
JW: And there wasn’t. She never went blue before. She never went purple before. And that’s all she kept talkin’ about. Every time she had a seizure, she kept, kept sayin’ I wanna, I wanna die. So, I don’t know whether she tried to O D intentionally…
DCR: Mm hmm. So, would she…
JW: I don’t know if the people in the car took her out there knowin’ what was goin’ on, or whether they hot shotted her and took her, you know, took her meds ‘cause I don’t, I don’t know. I don’t know if she had her meds on her.
[275] Mr. Weldon became emotional. He stated that Ms. Vachon was gone and all he could think of was her parents and children discovering that she was down at the beach trying to overdose. He did not want to think that she wanted to leave him. He does not know if she did this intentionally.
[276] Mr. Weldon said that he started at Oshawa beach. He was only told that she was going south to the beach. He said that there were a lot of drug dealers and he lost about thirty friends in a month. People were dropping like flies.
[277] Mr. Weldon said that he tried to clean her up. He pulled her twelve feet to the tree. He put branches and weeds on top of her. He put a blanket around her pretty good and weighed it down with rocks, bigger rocks that he found there. They were “Like, rock, rock. Like granite, or, or whatever. I don’t know. Some, a couple of pieces almost looked like flag…..Probably from, maybe from Lasco.” He said that he left her purse down there with Ms. Vachon and wrapped it up inside the blanket with her.
[278] He stated that afterwards he sat there crying. The sun started to rise, it was orange and pretty. Mr. Weldon started to crying as he described it.
[279] He did not check to see if she still had the money on her from before, over a thousand dollars, or if she had drugs.
[280] Mr. Weldon reiterated that he did not want her parents to know that she was doing dope. He then reiterated that a lot of people go missing down at the lake and that:
Like, there was a lot of shit goin’ and you’d have no fuckin’ clue. I could probably clear up your co…your cold case list for about ten years. There’s about probably twenty people that are dead that you guys have no idea that are murders.
[281] Mr. Weldon asked for another cigarette. Officer Rose stepped outside to see if he could find one. Mr. Weldon, while crying, said:
(Sobs) God, I miss her. (Long pause) God, I would’ve understood, Mel. Why didn’t ya tell me? Why didn’t you fuckin’ tell me? I would’ve understood.
(Long pause)
I would’ve understood, baby. Why did you have to hide it from me? Fuck. God, I did everything for you, baby. Everything. Fuck. I would’ve given my life for you ___ did. (Pause) Fuck, I was always there when nobody else was.
(Long pause)
Why, Melanie, why? God I wish you could’ve ___ (Pause) Why? God, I love you so much. Nothin’ I didn’t do for you. Why would you do this to me? Was it really that bad? (Pause) Was it really that bad? (Long pause) Maybe I couldn’t of saved you but, man ___ lot of people helped. I did it for you. I tried to be a good man.
(Long pause)
Grant, if you’re watchin’, I loved you like a brother. Fuck, man. I needed a friend so bad. (Pause) I got no one.
(Long pause)
Why? Why didn’t you tell me? God, baby. I’d of (sic) moved heaven and earth for you.
[282] Afterwards, Mr. Weldon started to sing. Officer Rose re-entered the room and gave him a cigarette. Mr. Weldon chuckled and said that, on the night of the police search, the officer drove him to the Pickering Fair where he bought a quarter ounce of heroin.
[283] Towards the end of the interview, Officer Rose told Mr. Weldon his view of the case. It can best be described as a lengthy monologue. On the video, Mr. Weldon can be seen with his head in his hands while Officer Rose spoke. I note that at the same time, Mr. Weldon, while viewing the video in court, also had his head in his hands.
[284] Officer Rose suggested to Mr. Weldon that there was an argument at the lake. Mr. Weldon denied it. There was no argument. They did not talk; she was not conscious to talk. He did not even get a chance to say goodbye. Mr. Weldon was crying as he spoke. He said that he was holding her neck, he had his arm around her and he was trying to hug her. He did not want her to leave. He denied putting his hands on her neck and being on top of her. He wiped the mud off of her and held her, just hugged her. She did not even blink and her tongue looked weird. It was blueish, purple.
[285] Officer Rose stepped outside. Mr. Weldon can be seen singing and doing push ups off the chair and arm dips. When Officer Rose returned, Mr. Weldon asked him about his medication:
DCR: Here ___ man.
JW: Awesome.
DCR: This lighter on the___
JW: Any words on the meds at all?
DCR: Sorry?
JW: Any words on meds?
DCR: I haven’t heard anything on the meds. But, um, I have to go…in order for, ah, you to go back to your cells there, I, I’ll check with the cells…
JW: Mm hmm.
DCR: …and, ah, see what we have there.
JW: Cells here, or up in Lindsay?
DCR: The cells here…
JW: Oh.
DCR: …and see if they made contact with anybody.
JW: Oh.
DCR: Okay?
JW: ‘Cause I need them bad. I haven’t had ‘em all day.
DCR: That’s your anxiety?
JW: The clonazepam, alprazolam and remeron.
DCR: Okay.
JW: Anxiety. PTSD and anti psy…anti psychotic ___ (Chuckles) (Pause) It’s, it’s an anti-psychotic and sleep med.
DCR: Okay.
JW: I didn’t know about the first part until after.
DCR: You seem to be doin’…you, you’re pretty even, ah, here today.
JW: I’m startin’ to get real shaky.
DCR: Are you?
JW: Yeah, and it gets bad.
DCR: Maybe it was that workin’ out?
JW: Where I can actually have ___
DCR: How’s that workin’ out in the chair?
JW: Ah, that’s nothin’.
DCR: (Chuckles)
JW: I do it all day long.
DCR: What do you think you do?
JW: Hmm?
DCR: What could you do? How many pushups, sit ups? Or, is it…
JW: Oh, it’s a lot.
DCR: A lot?
[286] Officer Rose told Mr. Weldon that he will be held for a remand hearing tomorrow. Mr. Weldon said that he did law for four years. Mr. Weldon asked if he was going to be charged with additional stuff. Officer Rose said that the charges are what the charges are. Mr. Weldon said that he is certain that the officer will hear about other stuff. Mr. Weldon, in response to another comment by Officer Rose, said that he is pretty inventive in jail and everyone calls him MacGyver. Officer Rose left the room. Mr. Weldon did some more push ups. Officer Weldon returned and said that, with respect to his medication:
DCR: I enquired about your meds. And I just wanna be, ah, fill you in about that. Um, as far as meds concerned, talked to…the information fra…that I got is, the CECC should’ve issued them this morning.
JW: They didn’t.
DCR: Um, and I know and I understand that.
JW: The psychiatrist just pre sent, pre-approved them.
DCR: And if they don’t send them with you, and if they don’t send them with you, then we don’t have them. And then you can get…where we…on the premises if you get released, then it’s up to you to get a prescription. So, obviously, remand you’re goin’ back, so you’ll have them when you get back. So, that’s the, that’s, the information I have.
JW: So, I don’t get to take ‘em?
DCR: We don’t have them here. I checked, I checked with cells, so it’ll be tomorrow. So, I checked with cells here…
JW: I’m gonna be on two homicides by tomorrow, or three.
DCR: Ah, I bet you don’t. So, um…
JW: (Chuckles) After the first one it’s free I guess anyways. (Chuckles)
Mr. Weldon’s Medication
[287] Cathy Goad, the Healthcare Manager from the Central East Correctional Centre testified at the voir dire. She brought Mr. Weldon’s medical records which indicated what medication he received and did not receive around the time of the August 7, 2019 interview with the police. The records revealed the following:
In the morning, on August 7, 2019, Mr. Weldon was supposed to receive Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen. He received that medication at 7:00 am.
In the evening, Mr. Weldon was scheduled to receive his Clonazaepam. He received his required dosage the previous evening on August 6, 2019. Usually the medication is distributed between 6:00 – 7:00 pm. He did not receive his dosage on August 7th because he was still in police custody.
In the evening, Mr. Weldon was scheduled to receive his Mirtzapine. He received his required dosage the previous evening on August 6, 2019. Usually the medication is distributed between 6:00 – 7:00 pm. He did not receive his dosage on August 7th because he was still in police custody.
On August 6th, Mr. Weldon was also subscribed Benzadiazopin. He has previously been on it but it was discontinued because it was believed that Mr. Weldon was diverting the medication. The doctor ordered that Mr. Weldon be placed back on it. Usually it takes some time for the pharmacy to get the new order. The new medication was not yet on Mr. Weldon’s list of medications. Ms. Goad testified that it would have been unlikely for him to get the new medication even if was still at the facility on August 7, 2019. The patient should have been told by the physician that there will be a 24-hour delay in receiving the new medication.
[288] Officer Dennis was monitoring the interview. Officer Rose came upstairs and asked about the medication. Officer Dennis was told that Officer Pillman was looking into the medications. Officer Pillman testified that he checked with the cells and was informed that there was no medication on Mr. Weldon when he had arrived. This happened at 12:06 pm. He informed Officer Dennis. Officer Dennis did not know why no one told Mr. Weldon that CECC did not send his medication with him. Officer Dennis expected this to happen, it was an oversight and no one was intentionally keeping this from Mr. Weldon.
[289] Mr. Weldon mentioned in the interview that the police had seized his medication. Officer Dennis believed he was referencing the June 6th, 2018 police seizure of Melanie Vachon’s medication. The police had never seized Mr. Weldon’s medication. Mr. Weldon had complained back in June 2018 that police had seized his medication. He was told then that they did not; that they only took the medication that was labelled as belonging to Ms. Vachon. Officer Dennis testified that the police could not attend Mr. Weldon’s residence to obtain any medication because Mr. Weldon had burned it down. Central East Correctional Centre would not give the police medication for someone who was not in their custody. Officer Dennis testified that if Mr. Weldon needed to attend a hospital, the police would have brought them but there was never any indication that Mr. Weldon needed to attend. It was suggested to Officer Dennis in cross-examination that the police could have taken Mr. Weldon to the pharmacy to get the medication. Officer Dennis testified that he never heard of officers doing such a thing. He would have taken Mr. Weldon to the hospital if he was in distress.
[290] Officer Dennis testified that he was familiar with Mr. Weldon because he had listened to the recordings of the undercover operations as well as the polygraph interview. Officer Dennis testified that there were some tough situations but there were no panic attacks or breathing issues and he did not believe that the interview should be stopped. Officer Dennis did not know what specific medication Mr. Weldon needed, although he thought it was for anxiety. Officer Dennis recalled that, during one undercover operation, Mr. Weldon said that he missed his medication but that it was okay for him to continue working that day as it stayed in his system for 24 hours.
Law and Analysis
[291] It is the defence’s position that the Crown has not met its onus. The defence submits that there are two issues that raise a doubt about the voluntariness of Mr. Weldon’s August 7, 2019 statement: 1) the police induced Mr. Weldon into giving a statement by promising to look into his medication; and 2) the police created an atmosphere of oppression by arranging that Mr. Weldon would be interviewed when he is exhausted by lack of sleep and without his nighttime medication. The Crown submits that it has met its onus. There was no inducement. Mr. Weldon was never promised his medication in exchange for giving a statement. Furthermore, there is no evidence of oppression. Mr. Weldon was happy to engage with the police and he misdirected them at the outset by falsely claiming that he was not given his medication.
[292] The Crown must demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that any statement made to a person in authority was made voluntarily before it can be admitted at trial. The rule is animated by “[o]ne of the overriding concerns of the criminal justice system” – that “the innocent must not be convicted”: R. v. Hayes, 2020 ONCA 284 at para. 38, quoting from R. v. Oickle, 2000 SCC 38, [2000] 2 S.C.R. 3, at para. 36. The rule is premised, in part, on a recognition that people will sometimes falsely confess to crimes: see R. v. Hart, 2014 SCC 52 at paras. 69-71.
[293] A trial judge must engage in a contextual analysis and look at the relevant factors, such as: 1) whether there were any threats or promises; 2) whether there were any oppressive circumstances; 3) whether the accused had an operating mind; and 4) whether there were any instances of police trickery: R. v. Oickle, at paras. 47-71, R. v. Hayes, at para. 39. “Thus, the voluntariness inquiry is a contextual one that considers all the relevant circumstances and eschews rigid and strict rules.”; R v Pearson, [2017] OJ No 2530, 2017 ONCA 389.
[294] As stated by Tulloch J.A. in R. v. Hayes at para. 41:
Overall, in undertaking the confessions rule analysis, the trial judge “should strive to understand the circumstances surrounding the confession and ask if it gives rise to a reasonable doubt as to the confession's voluntariness, taking into account all aspects of the rule”: Oickle, at para. 71.
[295] In R. v. Singh, 2007 SCC 48, [2007] 3 S.C.R. 405, the Supreme Court of Canada stated that voluntariness is the touchstone of the confessions rule. The Court stated at para. 35:
The doctrines of oppression and inducements are primarily concerned with reliability. However, as the operating mind doctrine and Lamer J.'s concurrence in Rothman, supra, both demonstrate, the confessions rule also extends to protect a broader conception of voluntariness “that focuses on the protection of the accused's rights and fairness in the criminal process”: J. Sopinka, S.N. Lederman and A.W. Bryant, The Law of Evidence in Canada (2nd ed. 1999), at p. 339. Voluntariness is the touchstone of the confessions rule. Whether the concern is threats or promises, the lack of an operating mind, or police trickery that unfairly denies the accused's right to silence, this Court's jurisprudence has consistently protected the accused from having involuntary confessions introduced into evidence. If a confession is involuntary for any of these reasons, it is inadmissible.
1) Did the police induce Mr. Weldon into giving a statement by promising to look into his medication?
[296] Counsel for Mr. Weldon submits that the police induced Mr. Weldon to continue talking by promising that they would look into his medication. I disagree. The record in no way supports this assertion. Mr. Weldon asked for his medication. Officer Rose said he would look into it. The evidence called at the voir dire shows that the police were able to determine quite quickly that the correctional facility did not send any medication with Mr. Weldon. This information was not relayed to Mr. Weldon until the end of the interview. I agree with defence counsel that it should have been. Officer Dennis, who was supervising and watching the interview, agreed that it should have been and that it was an oversight. However, I disagree with defence counsel’s submission that this was part of a strategy to keep Mr. Weldon talking.
[297] Mr. Weldon did not testify on this voir dire. There is no subjective evidence that he believed that he was being promised medication if he spoke. More critically, I do not see how anything said by the police during the course of the interview could be interpreted as an inducement. After Mr. Weldon told Officer Rose that he did not have his medication that day, Officer Rose simply said:
Alright. Um. I’ll check, um, obviously you know, as far as the, the arrangements here, I wasn’t part of that. Um, so what I’ll do is, I’ll make enquiries about that, and, ah, if I can get ya a coffee, how do you like your coffee?
[298] In looking at whether an inducement affected the voluntariness of a statement, it is not enough to simply identify an inducement. There must be a connection between the inducement, and the decision to speak to police. As Fairburn J.A, ( as she then was) stated in R. v. Joseph , [2020] OJ No 426, 2020 ONCA 73 at para. 60
There is nothing wrong with offering an interviewee an inducement to speak: Oickle, at para. 57. The voluntariness of a statement is not thrown into doubt simply because an accused is encouraged to speak, including through inducements. The question is whether such inducements cause the interviewee's will to be overborne: R. v. Spencer, 2007 SCC 11, [2007] 1 S.C.R. 500, at paras. 18-19; Oickle, at para. 57. It is the "strength of the inducement", the threat or promise - informed by all of the circumstances, that informs whether the will of the accused is overborne: Spencer, at para. 15; R. v. M.S.M., 2014 ONCA 441, at para. 9; Oickle, at paras. 47, 57.
[299] In my view, there is no evidence of any inducement, much less an inducement strong enough to raise a reasonable doubt as to whether the appellant's will was overborne R v. Al-Enzi, 2021 ONCA 81, [2021] OJ No 605. It was evident that Mr. Weldon spoke to the police, after he spoke to his counsel, not because he was hoping to obtain his medication but because he wanted to talk.
2) Did the police create an atmosphere of oppression?
[300] The concept of oppression focuses on conduct of the police improperly overbearing or undermining the free will of an arrestee to choose whether or not to speak to the police: R. v. Horvath 1979 CanLII 16 (SCC), [1979] 2 SCR 376, 44 C.C.C. (2d) 385 (S.C.C.), at pp. 394-7; McIntosh, at para. 20; R. v. Hoilet (1999), 1999 CanLII 3740 (ON CA), 136 C.C.C. (3d) 449 (Ont. C.A.), at paras. 16-28. There is not a closed category of circumstances that will be considered oppressive. However, generally, courts have considered: 1) the presence of distasteful custodial conditions; 2) inhumane conditions; 3) confrontation with fabricated or non-existent evidence; 4) deprivation of food, clothing, warmth, sleep or medical condition; and 5) excessively aggressive, intimidating questions: R. v. Oickle, at paras. 58-60.; R. v. Strong 2021 ONSC 231, [2021] O.J. No. 103 at para. 18.
[301] The presence or absence of oppressive circumstances is important not only in its own right, but also because it affects the overall voluntariness analysis; R v. Oickle, at para. 87.
[302] The defence submits that the police orchestrated the timing of Mr. Weldon’s interview so that he would be exhausted and deprived of his medication. I disagree.
[303] At the outset of the police interview, Mr. Weldon said that he needed his medication, that he was woken up early and he did not receive it that morning. He said that it was for anxiety and he took his medication three times a day. The Crown submits that Mr. Weldon was deliberating lying about the medications he took because he was trying to manipulate the situation. I need not decide if Mr. Weldon was lying or simply not being careful with his words. However, what he said about his medication was not accurate. The records filed from the institution in conjunction with the testimony of Cathy Goad, the Healthcare Manager at Central East Correctional Center, show that Mr. Weldon received his required medication the night before on August 6, 2019 and the morning of August 7, 2019. He took different medications at different times, but he did not take his anxiety medication three times a day. Rather, that medication was distributed once in the evening. He received his required dose the night before. He ultimately did not receive his August 7, 2019 evening dose because he was still providing his police interview. He also told Officer Rose that the police had taken his medication when they conducted an earlier search. This was also incorrect. The police only seized Ms. Vachon’s medication and Mr. Weldon had been so advised.
[304] It certainly could have assisted matters if Mr. Weldon had accurately relayed when he took his required medication.
[305] The police checked to see if any medication had been released with Mr. Weldon. It had not. I am not sure what more they could have done at the time. Officer Dennis testified that he was monitoring the situation and if Mr. Weldon was in distress, he was prepared to take him to the hospital. He never saw Mr. Weldon in distress and Officer Dennis was familiar with Mr. Weldon, having listened to the undercover operations.
[306] Defence counsel submits that Mr. Weldon was exhausted and sleep deprived and had to have also been affected by, at the very least, the failure to receive his evening medication. I disagree. A viewing of the video statement simply does not support these assertions.
[307] The video interview was very long, approximately 9 hours. However, Mr. Weldon was provided at the outset, shortly after 12:00 pm, with food, coffee and water. At numerous times, he asked for and was given cigarettes.
[308] Mr. Weldon, in his statement, indicated that he was awakened at 5:00 am. The Crown submits that there is no objective evidence to support it and Mr. Weldon has been proven unreliable with respect to his assertion about his medication. I need not decide exactly when Mr. Weldon was awakened. Clearly, it was a long day. He was transported from CECC to the Oshawa courthouse, and then to the police station to be processed and ultimately interviewed. However, the interview was conducted during the middle of the day and early evening. Even accepting that he had to wake up early, there is no evidence that Mr. Weldon slept poorly the night before.
[309] I agree with counsel that Mr. Weldon did appear tired at times. However, that is not surprising, given the situation. He gave a long interview with the police. I am sure that it was tiring but I disagree with the submission that he was exhausted and that the police effectively wore him down. Mr. Weldon can be seen in the video, at times, with his head in his hands. Often, at the same time, Mr. Weldon can be seen in court with his head in his hands as he watched the police interview. I do not take this as an indication that he was exhausted while providing the interview or while in court. It is just how he listened. Mr. Weldon had no difficulty concentrating, understanding or responding to Officer Rose’s questions. He answered questions about Lisa Fisher, his phone call to Rogers, allegations that he had hit Ms. Vachon, without difficulty. In fact, at one point Officer Rose wrongly asserted that Mr. Weldon was being inconsistent with respect to when he said Ms. Vachon lost her cell phone. Mr. Weldon accurately maintained that he never recalled saying that the phone was lost the day before. He also had the mental acumen at the end of the interview to ask if there would be any other charges presumably because he recalled some of the illegal activities he had engaged in, such as the attempt to sell a firearm, during the course of the undercover operations.
[310] Mr. Weldon showed different emotions during the course of the interview. However, those emotions were appropriate given the subject matter and the questioning of the time. For example, he was crying when he described Ms. Vachon dying. He was adamant and forceful that he did not kill her. When Officer Rose sarcastically said he was a good husband, Mr. Weldon told him to fuck off. Mr. Weldon laughed at different points during the interview as well. For example, towards the end of the interview he chuckled as he recounted that a police officer unknowingly took Mr. Weldon to buy heroin.
[311] This is not a situation where the police persisted and persisted and obtained an admission after a lengthy interview by wearing down an accused. During the first five and a half hours of the interview, Officer Rose went over Mr. Weldon’s story that he last saw Ms. Vachon in the morning when she gave him a kiss goodbye in the shower and said that she was going to see her friend. Officer Rose questioned him about Lisa Fisher, the Rogers call, the text to Ms. Vachon’s son, Ms. Vachon’s phone and other things. Officer Rose then played him the recording from the undercover operation where Mr. Weldon admitted burying Ms. Vachon. Mr. Weldon, without hesitation, adopted that version of events and said that Ms. Vachon had overdosed and he buried her but he did not kill her. For the remainder of the interview, Officer Rose questioned him about finding Ms. Vachon and burying her. Mr. Weldon did not change his version of his events because he was overcome with exhaustion. He changed his version because he was confronted with a recording of his own voice saying something different.
[312] Mr. Weldon asked for his medication at the outset of his interview. He also asked for it a couple of other times during the course of the interview and at the end of the interview. Some of those requests appear, from their timing, to be an attempt by Mr. Weldon to deflect from difficult questions but not all of them. There was a request at 2:30 pm. I agree with defence counsel that, with respect to this request, it does not appear from the questioning at the time that Mr. Weldon was using it as an excuse to not answer questions. However, at the same time, Mr. Weldon was not due to take his medication until that evening and he would have known that. I do not find that Mr. Weldon’s request for his medication was an indication that he actually needed his medication.
[313] Mr. Weldon, however, did not receive his evening medication. There is no medical evidence that failing to receive the medication would have a drastic and immediate effect. It was noted by Officer Dennis that Mr. Weldon said, during one of the undercover operations after he missed a dose, that it was alright because the medication stayed in the system for 24 hours. Mr. Weldon said, at the end of the interview that he was starting to feel shaky. Again, viewing the videotape interview does not support that claim. There is no indication that Mr. Weldon was any different at the end of the interview than at the beginning. In fact, I note that the same type of harmless bragging that Mr. Weldon exhibited at the beginning of the interview (that he had tattooed over 800,000 people including LeBron James and had an investor for $250,000) was present at the end of the interview, when he said that he was known as a MacGyver in jail, that he worked out all the time and that he was in law for four years. During the first part of the interview, before the tape from the undercover operation was played, Mr. Weldon was alone in the interview. He spoke out loud about finding those who killed Ms. Vachon and making them pay. During the second half of the interview, when Mr. Weldon was alone in the interview he spoke out loud again. Mr. Weldon questioned why Ms. Vachon did not tell him that she wanted to hurt herself. It is evident that, during both these instances, Mr. Weldon wanted to convey a message to whomever was watching. The absence of his evening dosage seemed to have no effect.
[314] I have listened to Mr. Weldon speak for over nine months as recorded in the Mr. Big undercover operations. I have been provided with his past statements. Watching his August 7, 2019 video statement, I note how familiar it is both in content, tone and mannerism to the other recordings and statements of Mr. Weldon. His answers during the August 7, 2019 interview were not the product of an exhausted mind that was deprived of his medication. Rather, his answers were similar to what he told others. For example, Mr. Weldon discussed the van, the missing women, Adam Strong, Mike Snead and the tattoo shop with Officer Rose, just as he had discussed numerous times in the past. He was friendly and happy to talk just as I have heard in the past. Mr. Weldon spoke at length to the police because he was content to do so.
[315] During the course of the interview, Officer Rose told Mr. Weldon that what he had been saying for the past five and half hours was lies and bullshit. There were a few other similar comments. While aggressive questioning can, by itself or in conjunction with other factors, create an atmosphere of oppression, in my view, Officer Rose’s comments did not. The comments were few in a very long interview and they had no effect on Mr. Weldon. The overall questioning of Mr. Weldon, while long, was not aggressive or intimidating nor did Mr. Weldon appear intimidated at all by them.
[316] I am satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the statement was given voluntarily. There was no atmosphere of oppression.
[317] However, the interview must be edited as the interview contains references to other alleged prior discreditable and inadmissible conduct. The Crown cannot lead the following portions of the statement:
References to Mr. Weldon having been in jail;
Reference to Mr. Weldon having taken a lie detector test;
The questioning where Officer Rose wrongly stated that Mr. Weldon told Officer Traynor that Ms. Vachon had lost her phone the day before she went missing;
References to times that he was alleged to have attacked Ms. Vachon, apart from the reference to Mr. Sneed that I ruled admissible; see R. v. Weldon 2022 ONSC 4627
Reference to his Ohio record;
Reference to the possibility that he might be charged with other matters; and
Reference to the fact that he stabbed a guy when he was 12.
[318] In addition, during the course of the interview, Officer Rose had incorrectly told Mr. Weldon that he was inconsistent on a certain point with a prior statement. That exchange must be edited out, as must Officer Rose’s lengthy monologue setting out his theory of the case.
Justice H. Leibovich
Released: September 29, 2022
OSHAWA COURT FILE NO.: CR-21-15565
DATE: 20220929
ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
HIS MAJESTY THE KING
Applicant
– and –
JEFFREY WELDON
Defendant
REASONS FOR DECISION ON
HART APPLICATION
AND
APPLICATION TO INTRODUCE THE
AUGUST 7, 2019 STATEMENT
LEIBOVICH J.
Released: September 29, 2022
[^1]: The $20 per hour was for the time spent working. He was not paid for his time spent travelling to and from the landscaping jobs. [^2]: On March 21, 2019 during UCO 43, UC2 brought Mr. Weldon to a storage unit that had been furnished with couches and turned into a place to relax and hang out. [^3]: This possibility was set up in an earlier UCO when UC2 and Mr. Weldon delivered fake DRPS reports obtained from a source to UC18 (Jimmy).