'Till death do us part,' Alberta woman tells undercover cop she hired to kill husband
CBC
When Audra Lynne Symbalisty used the phrase "till death do us part," she was in a gas station parking lot in Carstairs, Alta., about an hour's drive north of Calgary, trying to hire a hit man to kill her husband on the couple's 18th wedding anniversary.
Audra Symbalisty wanted to "part" with her husband by arranging for his death, but she had no idea she'd engaged an undercover police officer, not a hit man-for-hire.
On Monday, Symbalisty pleaded guilty to counselling an undercover police officer to commit the murder of her spouse, Don Symbalisty.
The 60-year-old grandmother sat in the prisoner's box in a navy blue jail-issued sweatsuit, with her greying blonde hair piled on top of her head.
Court of King's Bench Justice Michele Hollins accepted a joint submission for a five-year prison sentence. With credit for the time she has already served, Symbalisty has about three and a half years left on her sentence.
In handing down the sentence, Hollins addressed Symbalisty directly.
"Part of your healing, I expect, will be coming face to face with what you've done to your family," said the judge.
Details of the crime were read aloud in court from an agreed statement of facts (ASF) prepared by prosecutors Elaine Ng and Ryan Ziegler and defence lawyer Allan Fay.
Justice Hollins heard that in 2021, Don Symbalisty purchased a life insurance policy which would have paid his wife nearly $500,000 in the event of his death.
Don was a long-haul trucker who frequently drove between Canada and the U.S. for work.
By early 2024, the couple's relationship had deteriorated and "the two were inattentive and verbally abusive to one another," according to the ASF.
Over a six-week period in early 2024, Audra Symbalisty had several conversations about her husband with an acquaintance who took his concerns to Didsbury RCMP on Feb. 12, 2024.
His statement to police led to a two-and-a-half week investigation involving an undercover police officer (UCO) posing as a contract killer who was introduced to Audra over text message.
The two made a plan to meet in Carstairs on Feb. 24, 2024.
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