While both people accused in a high-profile murder conspiracy trial admit there were discussions to kill their spouses, each claim neither was capable of carrying out the act.
On Wednesday, the jury at Prince Albert’s Court of Queen’s Bench heard far less swearing in the audio of Angela Nicholson, taken from a cell with a planted undercover officer.
Nicholson found herself in the situation after she and her lover Curtis Vey were arrested July 6, 2013, for allegedly conspiring to kill their spouses.
The Crown alleges the plan was for Nicholson’s husband, Jim Taylor, to die by overdose, and for Vey’s wife, Brigitte, to be burned alive in a house fire.
During the nearly 34 hours she spent in the cell with the officer, Nicholson said her marriage to Taylor crumbled due to his alleged alcoholism, addiction to cocaine and a gambling habit that lost the pair $100,000.
She reiterated many of the same points she told RCMP officers during her interrogation and claimed Taylor was emotionally abusive, and preventing her from finishing their divorce proceedings.
Nicholson filed for divorce in 2009 and the matter was still unresolved when she was arrested.
“I just wanted to move on,” she said to the undercover Mountie.
Much like Vey, Nicholson admitted they talked about possibly taking some sort of action against their spouses, but said they would never act on it.
“You know what, when the time came closer, that’s probably all it would have been, just talk…you say things out of anger, but nothing that you intend to do,” Nicholson said.
She admitted she researched how to start a grease fire, which the Crown alleges was how the pair planned to kill Vey’s wife. Nicholson quickly followed the admission by saying she was too “chicken” to do it.
“I can’t even kill a frickin’ mouse,” she said.
Earlier in the day the jury heard the final bit of audio from Vey’s time in a cell, which also included a talk with an undercover police officer.
Vey also said he wouldn’t be able to through with a murderous plan, even if they’d made one.
“I’m not built like that,” he said.
Vey also expressed how he wished he could apologize to his wife for the grief he caused. His emotions ranged throughout the recording and took on a defeatist tone near its conclusion.
He grew increasingly frustrated with his 36-hour confinement and discussed the effect his arrest would have on his farm.
“Life’s a b—h, and then you die,” Vey said.
Chief Justice Martel Popescul said the trial might finish this Friday, as originally expected; however, it will likely continue into next week if the defence calls any witnesses.