Métis and Cree woman Cindy Gladue bled to death in a bathtub at the Yellowhead Inn in 2011.HO/The Canadian Press
A former long-haul trucker from Ontario who is in an Alberta prison for the killing of a woman in an Edmonton hotel a decade ago is appealing his conviction and sentence.
Bradley Barton was sentenced last month to 12 1/2 years for manslaughter in the death of Cindy Gladue, a Métis and Cree woman who bled to death in a bathtub at the Yellowhead Inn in 2011.
Medical experts testified Ms. Gladue had four times the legal limit of alcohol in her system when Mr. Barton performed a sexual act that caused a severe wound to her vagina.
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Mr. Barton, 53, told his trial that he arranged to pay Ms. Gladue for sex and was shocked when he woke the next morning to find her body.
It was the second trial for Mr. Barton after a jury found him not guilty in 2015 of first-degree murder, a verdict that sparked rallies and calls for justice for Indigenous women across the country.
Defence lawyer Dino Bottos, in the notice of appeal, says the trial judge made several errors and that the 12 1/2-year sentence is excessive and unreasonable.
Mr. Barton’s second trial heard that he had searched for graphic and violent videos nine days before Ms. Gladue was found dead.
“The trial judge erred in admitting evidence of internet searches performed by the appellant” which created more prejudice against Mr. Barton instead of making a probable point, Mr. Bottos writes in the notice.
Mr. Bottos also argues that an appeal is necessary because Mr. Barton’s search history was unlawfully seized, which violated his charter rights.
The appeal notice also says Mr. Barton disagrees with the trial judge’s conclusion that consent is “vitiated,” or invalid, if there is a “commercial sex transaction resulting in death when the accused is reckless as to the risk of serious bodily harm.”
The Crown has already filed an appeal of the sentence, arguing that it is unfit and not proportional to the gravity of the offence.
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