Canadian True Crime - The Murder of Victoria Shachtay

Episode Date: May 15, 2018

A 23 year old quadriplegic single mother receives a package disguised as a Christmas gift on her doorstop. What happened next, and the story behind who sent this mysterious package, would stun the small community of Innisfail.* Clarification: Please note that Evan Shielke was a FORMER volunteer firefighter at the time of the incident. The media incorrectly chose to focus on this aspect when reporting on him, but he clarified with me that he actually hadn't volunteered for ten years. He greatly respects what firefighters do and wants to avoid anyone thinking the misreporting came from him.Look out for early, ad-free release on CTC premium feeds: available on Amazon Music (included with Prime), Apple Podcasts, Patreon and Supercast. Full list of resources, information sources, credits and music credits:See the page for this episode at www.canadiantruecrime.ca/episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast may contain coarse language, adult themes, and content of a violent and disturbing nature. Listener discretion is advised. This is Christy. Welcome to Canadian True Crime, Episode 25, The Murder of Victoria Shack Day. Innesphal is a small town of almost 8,000 residents situated in central Alberta. It's a historic town dating back to the late 1800s. Pioneering times, as it provided a resting spot for those travelling between what was then called Fort Calgary and Fort Edmonton. It's situated about halfway between the two cities, although closer to Calgary. These days, it's known for having a modern-day country lifestyle, a quaint historic village, lots of farms, a livestock auction, and town entertainment courtesy of the Danes Rodeo Ranch.

It's just an ordinary, quiet prairie town. It was the morning of Friday, November 25, 2011. Young volunteer firefighter Evan Shilke was at home, when at about 9 a.m., he suddenly heard a loud bang. He looked up and saw glass flying out of the window of his neighbor's house, two doors down. He didn't really know his neighbor, but had seen her around. He knew she was a young woman in a wheeled,

in her early 20s and that a little girl lived there too. It was a tope and brown fourplex, next to an elementary school, and they lived on the ground floor apartment. But that was all he knew. His firefighter and emergency training kicked in and he ran over to the multiplex house and found the front door open. A woman was standing in the front doorway, screaming and crying. Evan was the first person to enter the house and raced past broken glass and debris. He looked around at first thinking it might have been some sort of gas-related accident in the kitchen, but what he saw made him instantly realize it was something far more serious. Evan could smell gunpowder, and a feeling of horror came over him.

He then saw his neighbour slumped over in her wheelchair. Her head was bleeding profusely, and her face had streaks of a black substance on it. Evan put his head next to hers and looked for signs of life. He checked her pulse. He couldn't find anything. It was clear that there was nothing he could do. Again, his firefighter training told him not to touch anything, and likely knowing the little girl was in school so not in the house,

he backed away from the scene. As he waited for police, he comforted the other woman who had collapsed on the front lawn. Evan wondered what had happened and why anyone would want to hurt his neighbor of all people. About 9 a.m. this morning there was an explosion at a townhouse-style apartment here on 51st Avenue in Innisfail, Alberta. That explosion occurred inside the residence and resulted in the death of a 23-year-old female

who was a resident at that apartment. It also contained at the time a woman who was in her 30s. She didn't suffer any serious injuries. The name of the deceased is not going to be released at this time because we're still doing Mexican notifications. At this time we do not know what caused the explosion. We treat it as a murder, as we do normally with all unexplained sudden death. Without knowing exactly what is the cause of this,

we have to explain that we do know there was a package delivered to this residence sometime in the early morning. We're not saying that this had anything to do. has had anything to do with the actual explosion, but we are wanting the public to be aware and be mindful of any unanticipated delivery of any packages. We certainly are not saying that is a cause of it, but we just want people to be aware of it. Later that day, CTV News reported that the victim of the blast was 23-year-old single mother Victoria Shack Day, who used a wheelchair after having been paralyzed some years ago in a car crash. Luckily, her six-year-old

daughter was at school at the time. The other woman who was there at the time was her caregiver and had luckily escaped serious injury. Investigators from across the country had descended on Innisfail, including explosive experts from Ottawa, and had spent the next day going over the crime scene and through Victoria's apartment looking for clues as to what had happened. And the The following day, the RCMP confirmed that the explosion that killed Victoria was caused by the package delivered to her home. The small, tight-knit town of Innisfail was shocked. RCMP Corporal Warren Wright said Victoria's death and the circumstances around it had devastated everyone. Quote, this type of thing doesn't happen in this greater area.

This is something that would happen somewhere else. It doesn't happen in Innesphal, Alberta. An autopsy was performed, and Victoria Shackday's cause of death was confirmed to be from a bomb explosion. The manner of death was homicide. Investigation and analysis from the Innesphal RCMP, the major crimes unit and other specialised units, determined that Victoria was targeted in the explosion, although the RCMP said they had no suspects.

They did, however, have some leads and said that the package was delivered by hand, not through the mail. The investigation would continue. The police added that the public no longer needed to be worried about the threat of more exploding packages as they had first warned. Victoria Shaktay's brother Trevor spoke to the media, saying her sister was a devoted mother to her seven-year-old daughter and that he had no idea who would want to harm her.

quote, she's done nothing, nothing that would merit something like this. She didn't have any enemies. He said he'd been having a difficult time making sense of Victoria's death and pleaded for whoever is responsible to come forward. A memorial service was held for Victoria just over a week after the explosion. More than 250 family and friends packed into a small Innisfail church, many of them wearing red hoodies saying, free to dance. Red was Vicky's favourite colour, and free to dance was a reference to one of her

favourite songs. A trust fund had been set up for her daughter, seven-year-old Destiny, who was part of the large family procession, carrying a large brown teddy bear. Family had rallied around destiny and was sharing her care. A family friend, Marnie Rilling, spoke about Victoria. Quote, she had a more abundant and healthy. happy life in her chair than other people ever found. She described Vicky as, quote, determined, a dear friend, devoted mother and faithful parishioner who was always seen with a Tim Horton's cup hanging precariously by her wheelchair every Sunday at church. Marnie went on to read memories written by family members, including Vicky's father, who described her as a fighter.

Local pastor and family spokesperson Dave Weeb said, quote, The service was a great tribute to Vicky, her life and her faith in Jesus. Meantime, the RCMP was still pleading for the public to come forward if they had information. Their investigation continued with canvassing the neighbourhood to see if anyone had security cameras of the streets nearby Victoria's house that might identify a potential suspect. But then, the case seemed to go cold. The police said nothing further about it, but later said they had over 70 investigators working on it.

As far as the public were concerned, the investigation seemed to go nowhere. But six months later, on May the 27th, 2012, the police announced that they had arrested a 55-year-old man and charged him with first-degree murder, sending a person an explosive device and causing an explosion likely to cause injury. Victoria Shaktay was born in 1988 in Didsbury, a town about 35 minutes drive south of Innesphail towards Calgary. She was the youngest of five siblings, Chris, Trevor, Derek and Sarah.

As a child, her oldest brother Chris remembered her as having a willful and independent. spirit. In fact, when she was three to four years old, she climbed to the top of a grain elevator by herself. At some point, her parents, Victor and Luella, split up, and Lou ended up remarrying a man named Rick Bersier. In 1999, when Vicky was 11, she and her siblings moved with their mother and stepfather to Innesphail, so the adults could be closer to work. Vicky's brother, Trevor remembered that she read a lot of books. She was naturally inquisitive and asked a lot of questions. She was a positive, cheerful girl who came to his baseball games and actively cheered him on. Some people in Vicky's life said she went through a rebellious period, which

most teens tend to do. In 2004, Vicky became pregnant at just 15 years old. No details about the father of the child were released publicly, and no accounts like that. listed him as ever being part of her life. With the help of her family, Vicky was determined to raise her baby by herself. When Vicky was just four months pregnant, a tragic event occurred. She was the passenger in a vehicle with two other friends when the driver lost control and rolled upside down into a ditch on a highway west of Innisfail. Vicky was seriously injured. She had sustained devastating fractures to her C4, C5 and C6 vertebrae, which left her with permanent quadriplegia,

the total or partial loss of use of all four limbs and torso. But Vicky's unborn baby survived the accident and miraculously continued to grow as her mother recovered from her devastating injuries. A few months later, Vicky gave birth to a healthy baby girl. She named her destiny. Vicky's sister Sarah would later say, quote, Nobody would think a baby would be able to survive everything that Vicky had to go through, all the drugs and surgeries she truly was destined to be.

Victoria moved into her mother and stepfather's house for the next four years while she adapted to life in a wheelchair and as a new mother to a baby girl. She was described by a family family. friend as being bitter and angry at first, an understandable attitude given what she'd been through. But baby destiny gave Vicky a reason to fight to live. Her father, Victor Shackday, said that Vicky was resilient and accepted her situation. Quote, she moved forward. She was a proud mother, a great daughter. And move forward she did. With the help of physiotherapy, Vicky regained some use of her arms, and a family friend helped her to learn to drive a car again, using only one hand.

Her mother and stepfather decided to renovate their house to make it more wheelchair accessible for Vicky and ended up getting a quote from a man named Brian Malley, who co-owned a house building company. He instead offered to build them a brand new wheelchair accessible house and only charged them what it cost to build. This was a great offer, so Vicky's family sold their old house to fund the new build and Brian Mellie let them live in his recently deceased grandmother's house until their new house was ready. He seemed like a really good guy. Vicky and her family were thrilled. Vicky decided to file a lawsuit after the car accident,

mainly because she realised that she had a young daughter to provide for now, and with her disability, she needed a special. car and her chances of finding a well-paying job to pay for all of this were slim to none. She sued the driver of the car from her accident, the vehicle's owner and the insurance company for damages. She was successful and in 2007 she received a $575,000 settlement, a substantial amount. Vicky knew that with strategic financial investment, she could likely rely on interest returns from that money to support herself and destiny, as well as possibly hire a carer to help out. But she knew she needed a good financial advisor, so she turned again to Brian Mellie to help her

invest the funds. As well as co-owning a house building company, Brian was also a financial advisor with Asante wealth management, an investment advisory service in Red Deer, a nearby city. He had advised at least two other family. members on their finances, and after his generosity with the house build, he was now considered a family friend. He was friendly with Vicky's stepfather, Rick Bersia, and their wives were jogging partners. He seemed like the perfect choice to assist Vicky with her nest egg. Brian put together an investment plan for Vicky, designed to grow the money she'd received and get her maximum interest to live off. Part of the plan was for her to take out a loan

for another $260,000 to bump up the fund and supplement the potential growth. They did a budget and Vicky worked out the amount she would need to provide for her and Destiny's living expenses as well as hire a live-in caregiver to help out. They could do it. Vicky was feeling happy and positive about the future. She'd had a crazy and harrowing couple of years. Within months, she'd been in a serious car accident, was declared a quadriplegic and had become the single mother of a baby, all at the tender

ages of 15 and 16. After all the challenges she'd overcome and the readjusting she'd had to go through, it was about time something went right. Brian Melly put some of Vicky's funds into high-risk investments, and in fact 92% of it was put into just one stock. Brian purchased shares of this stock at $6.31 each. During the first half of 2008, the investment peaked at almost $840,000 total. But as we all know, the economic downturn happened and the market dropped.

Brian ended up selling Vicky's shares for half of what he paid for them. By November of 2008, Victoria had lost almost $400,000 of her nest egg, and only had $450,000 remaining, and remember, a large portion of that would need to pay back the bank loan he'd recommended that she take out. Brian didn't tell Victoria Shaktay about the state of her investment, though,

and continued to act like everything was normal. In the meantime, Vicky hired a living caregiver. Marlene Punan Bayan was from the Philippines and had been educated as a physiotherapist there. Marlene had come to Canada under the live-in caregiver program, which at the time provided a special work permit to those willing to come to Canada and perform jobs in that field, which are desperately needed. After 24 months, the caregiver may be eligible to apply for permanent residency.

Marlene arrived and by all accounts settled in well with Vicky and Destiny. Both women like to go to bed early and get up early, so straight away their lives merged in well together. Along with assisting Vicky with the daily needs of a quadriplegic single mother who had limited use of her arms, Marlene would also help out with household chores like cooking and cleaning. At night, Marlene would help Vicky with stretching exercises and massage her legs. The two soon became good friends and by all accounts enjoyed their time living there with little destiny. Vicky was an avid churchgoer and loved attending the services at Innisfail Alliance Church.

Pastor Andrew Rilling would later say she often wheeled in to volunteer at a kids' craft program or attend a Bible study group. A family friend recounted one time when her baby was being extremely fussy during vacation Bible time. Vicky wheeled into the rescue. Quote, she put the baby on her lap and motored her up and down. all morning. Pretty soon everyone wanted a ride. She was in all her glory. Despite the positive direction Vicky's life had turned in, unfortunately, the roller coaster wasn't over. The family suffered a blow when Vicki's mother, Lou Bersia, died of cancer, two days after Christmas in 2010. And by April of the next year, 2011, Vicky's nest egg was completely gone and her in her

investment account was closed. But Vicky still didn't know anything about it. And her financial advisor Brian Melly was still acting like everything was normal. When Vicky would go to cash her monthly checks, they often bounced, so she would either contact Brian or go to his office at Asante Wealth Management to remind him to put the money in her account. And he did. Except it wasn't her money that he was giving her. Before Vicky's mother died of cancer, she secretly gave Brian $15,000 to give to her daughter. Brian had been keeping it all this time, so gave that to Vicky, letting her assume it was dividends from the investment. He also gave her an additional $30,000 from his own personal accounts. And in July, he purchased a galvanized steel nipple pipe with threading

at both ends and one end cap. It was six inches long and two inches wide. The kind of thing you use to make a pipe bomb. A pipe bomb is a crudely made explosive device that uses a tightly sealed section of metal pipe filled with an explosive material, usually gunpowder. It's tightly sealed at both ends with caps and a fuse is inserted into the pipe

with a lead running out a hole. The lead can be a common fuse that you light, or it can be electric with wires leading to a battery that triggers the explosion. Enormous pressure builds inside the small pipe really quickly, causing it to burst. The burst metal pipe itself becomes the shrapnel. The manufacture and possession of a pipe bomb is generally considered a serious crime, especially in Canada. Not long after Brian Mellie bought this piece, of steel pipe, Vicky did learn the truth about her money, but by accident. She called Asante wealth management to speak with Brian about needing more of her money, but he was away on a fishing

trip. When she couldn't find him, she spoke to his assistant who checked her account and told her that the account was empty and had been closed. Vicky was shocked and went into a tailspin. She didn't know what had happened. When he got back, Brian must have been able to convince Vicky that things weren't as dire as she thought and continued making payments to her. Many speculated that it was because it wasn't good for business to have the owner of a financial investment company lose all the money of his disabled single-mother client. It was in Brian's best interests to keep this from getting out.

Still, Victoria must have had a nagging feeling that everything wasn't right, so she tried to find a job, but had no luck, so she applied to the government program called Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped. She'd told her family that her money was gone, and she didn't know where or how that happened. Her family noticed that her mood had changed. Her positive outlook had been replaced with confusion, frustration and fear. Vicki's sister Sarah would say that when she tried to schedule appointments with Brian Melly to figure out what happened and what she should do next, he would either duck her or confuse her

with financial lingo. Quote, she was starting to ask questions of him. On October the 15th, 2011, Brian made what would be the last payment to Victoria. Later that month, Vicky, Destiny and her caregiver Marlene moved to their new ground floor apartment. New neighbour June Crossley would later tell the media that Vicky was an outgoing, friendly girl. Quote, she wouldn't harm anybody. November the 24th, 2011 was an exciting and important day for the three that lived in the apartment. After working hard as Vicky's caregiver for years and waiting patiently, Marlene finally got the go-ahead to get her Canadian permanent residency status.

She left that morning to take her grey house. bus to Calgary to complete the paperwork and then returned home. Vicky met her at the door and greeted her with a big smile. This was a long time coming. They ordered pizza to celebrate. The next morning, November 25th, started off like any normal day. But then, Marlene opened the front door to let Vicky's dogs out and saw an odd package on the doorstep. It was a sparkly green and gold gift bag, clearly designed to look like a Christmas gift, but oddly it was a month before Christmas. She called Vicky to tell her,

and Vicky asked her to bring it in. It had a tag with the name Victoria handwritten on it, but spelled incorrectly. Vicky didn't know what to make of it, so she set it on the kitchen table without opening it. After Destiny was dropped at school, the two ladies then went to Vicki's stepfather's house, which they often did.

Rick Bersier still lived at the purpose-built house and had a more accessible shower for Vicky to use than the one at the apartment. Vicky told him about the package she'd received in passing. He was very serious when he told her not to open it and to call the police. When they got back to the house, it was 9 a.m. and Marlene got to work cleaning the kitchen. Vicky grabbed the package from the kitchen table. Marlene reiterated Rick's warning to her.

not to open the gift because they didn't know who it came from. Vicky set the gift on her lap and wheeled herself through to the dining room. Just a couple of seconds later, there was a loud bang and an explosion that ripped through the townhouse. Marlene ran out to the dining room where she found Vicky bleeding from the neck. She ran out the house to get help and ran into firefighting neighbor Evan Shelke. Three days later, Brian Mellie was first. first interviewed by the police. He said that Victoria wasn't financially responsible, and that's why she had no money left, not because of anything he'd done. He also suggested

that they look at Vicky's brother Derek because he had a possible drug connection and perhaps Vicky got caught in the crossfire. He told police he'd witnessed Vicky and Derek arguing over her lawsuit settlement and that he'd also smelled marijuana once when he met with her. Brian denied that he gave Vicky money from his own accounts, telling them, quote, I'm not that nice of a guy. When the police asked what he'd been doing the night before and the morning of the explosion, Brian said that he had dinner, watched TV and went to bed. His wife wasn't home.

She was in Edmonton at the ballet. The next morning, he went early to join her in Edmonton on business. Not long after that, Brian Malley attended. the funeral of Victoria Shackday. He was a trusted family friend after all. But the police could smell a rat. Between January and May of 2012, they conducted 10 separate days of surveillance on Brian Malley. He didn't do anything out of the ordinary, but they did get DNA evidence from a napkin he used when he dined at a Wendy's restaurant. On May the 25th, 2012, six months after the explosion, Brian Malley was arrested and police executed a search of his house.

It was described as an unprecedented investigation for the RCMP. Inspector Garrett Willsley said, quote, I've never seen this type of crime involving an explosive device. Very few of my colleagues either have seen this type of crime. In fact, incidents of package bombings are extremely rare in Canada. Before this, the last confirmed. death from a package bomb was discovered two weeks before Christmas 1996 in southern Ontario. 43-year-old Wayne Gravette had just opened a 40 hectare farm in the Moffet area,

roughly between Guelph and Milton, when he received a package in the mail. It had on it a large flashlight and a letter that ended with the greeting, Merry Christmas and May you never have to buy another flashlight. Flicking the switch on the massive light triggered the explosion, which killed Wayne instantly. To this day, his family still doesn't know who was responsible or what their motive might have been. You can find out more about this story in season four of the podcast Someone Know Something. After Brian Malley's arrest announcement, Vicky's family said in a news conference that they were relieved they'd finally be. an arrest. Her father Victor said that the family was, quote, experiencing a lot of trepidation that

this fellow was still in the general public. He went on to say that if Brian Melly was close to the family and if he wasn't trusted by them, then he wouldn't have been able to do what he did. At the time, the family said they were unsure if his motive was driven by money and would have to wait to find out details in court. Vicky's sister Sarah said she suspected it was Brian Malley soon after the bombing occurred, just because Vicky was so well loved that they didn't have many people to look at. She added that he, quote, doesn't seem like the type of man to do that. Her brother Derek said that he had no idea that Brian would be the man arrested

and said he felt, quote, more rage than anything. everyone knows that it's the person you know the most and least expect. The police confirmed they were confident they had identified the man responsible and that they weren't pursuing any other suspects. In the meantime, DNA evidence from the gift bag packaging for the bomb was compared to that found on Brian's napkin. It was a match. Brian was charged with first-degree murder.

The next month, Brian received a visit. in the Red Deer Reman Centre. It was his friend and business partner, Bob Yanue. Bob was shocked when Brian asked him to buy a canister of smokeless gunpowder from a store they'd both previously gone to. In June 2012, a month after his arrest, Brian was released on $10,000 bail, and as part of his conditions, he and his wife had to go and live with her mother in Edmonton.

Vicki's father, Victor Shackday, attended the hearing, telling the media that he was keeping an eye on his granddaughter destiny, now eight years old. Quote, the last time I saw her, she was doing as well as can be expected. She still hasn't got the concept of her mother dying or how her mother died. Nobody wants to give her the how, but the fact that she's gone, she hasn't got the concept of death. So who was Brian Mellie anyway? Not much was publicly revealed about his younger days, but from what we do know, he certainly had a turbulent personal life. He got married for the first time at age 16, and the couple would go on to have a daughter together. However, they later separated and divorced after his wife

accused him of threatening violence and death against her and their daughter. Brian denied these allegations. At some point during this time, Brian was a time. Brian, had been a municipal police officer in Alberta, which was later confirmed by the RCMP. They wouldn't give any more information, though, including how long he lasted in the force and why he left, saying that it didn't have any bearing on the investigation into the death of Victoria Shaktay. Ironically, for someone who was a financial advisor, Brian himself had a long history of financial problems. In 1987, he did. He did. He did. He did. He did. He was a financial advisor. Brian himself, he declared he was bankrupt and was given an absolute release from his $86,000 worth of debt.

Brian married for a second time, but ended up having an affair with a co-worker who he left his wife for. That co-worker is believed to be his third wife, Christine Malley. At the time of his arrest, they were both working at Asante Wealth Management's Red Deer office. She was the branch manager and he was a senior financial advisor. Brian was known to be an avid hunter who did home renovation work, co-owned the home building company, and of course was a financial advisor. At the time he was arrested, his lawyer said he made around $600,000 a year. He was also under investigation by Canada's securities regulator,

the Investment Industry Regulation Organization of Canada, or IROC, although they wouldn't say where the initial complaint came from. The following year, 2013, more information was released about the securities regulator investigation. One of his former clients had launched an $80 million class action lawsuit that alleged that Brian Malley, quote, disregarded the stated investment goals of the class members, engaged in a one-size-fits-all investment strategy for the class members that was holding, unsuitable for the investors, and acted in his own best interests which were in conflict with the

interests of his client class members. In a disciplinary hearing held in 2014, IROC detailed that they found Brian failed to know essential facts related to some of his clients, made unsuitable recommendations, and he also engaged in unauthorized discretionary trading in the accounts of seven of the ten clients. This is when an advisor makes a decision on where money should go without consulting the client. IROC also ruled that Brian Melly violated regulations in his financial dealings with Victoria Shaktay, and soon he would be on trial for her first-degree murder. Brian Mellie's trial began on Monday, January 19th, 2015, in Red Deer, Alberta. Brian Malley stood in a suit and tie

and pled not guilty to all three charges of first-degree murder causing an explosion and sending a person an explosive device. Crown prosecutor Anders Quist told the jury that Brian Malley had lost all of Victoria Shaktay's money and he had to resort to paying her out of his own pocket. As a result, he wanted to cut his losses and that meant he wanted her dead. The Crown said that most of the people,

the evidence to be presented was circumstantial because no one saw Brian build or deliver the bomb to Vicky's house. Defence attorney for Brian Malley, Bob Alonisi, said the charges were, quote, horrible and heinous, and told the jury that someone else was out to get Victoria or her family. The defence argued money wasn't a motive, saying that many people lost investments due to market fluctuations in 2008, and Vicky's own excessive spending habits also contributed to the loss. Brian's lawyer added that he'd given Victoria some of his own money out of kindness and had no motive to kill her. Quote, if Mr. Mellie decided to take pity on Victoria Shaktay, is that a reason to then kill her? Wouldn't he just stop paying? Through witness testimony, the court heard that

DNA left on the package, including the tag that had Victoria Shack Day's name written on it, was consistent with Brian Malley's DNA. A lot of the case against Brian Malley focused on items that he was proven to have purchased in the months leading up to the crime, that, together with items he already owned, were used to make the pipe bomb. These items included smokeless gunpowder, an end cap, light switch, lantern battery, tiny light, bulbs and a piece of galvanized steel pipe, which Brian Mellie purchased in July of 2011, just four months before the explosion. During forensic testimony, it came out that the bomb was reconstructed after it exploded

and was found to match the piece of piping that Brian purchased from Rona Hardware Store. But the defense argued a different side to this story. Regarding many of the items found or purchased, the defense said that Brian Mellie was an avid hunter, using gunpowder to fill shotgun shells. Brian Mellie's mother-in-law testified in reference to this and the smokeless gunpowder that was found during an RCMP search of his house. A gun owner can recycle old shotgun shells by using a special tool called a reloader, which adds gunpowder and the other components needed to create new ammunition. Brian's mother-in-law said that her son had a reloader, insinuating

that the gunpowder Brian purchased was for this purpose, in relation to his hunting hobby, and wasn't for the creation of a pipe bomb. But police also testified that they didn't find any reloaders or any other tool needed to reload shotgun shells. Brian Malley was also a home renovator, so the defence counted that the other items found that could be used to build a pipe bomb

were used for activities associated with renovation. For example, he bought the tiny light bulbs to make Christmas lights from scratch. And the metal pipe. The year after Brian was arrested, the defence offered to provide the police with a piece of pipe, saying it was the exact same one Brian had purchased in 2011. Brian's mother-in-law testified that while he was living with her on bail, Brian and his wife Christine had been helping her with numerous home renovations,

including one job where she says a metal pipe was used to encase the natural gas line to protect it from concrete that was being poured. A piece of the pipe and an end cap were dug up from her house and presented as evidence for the defence. The inference was that this was the pipe Brian had purchased. It wasn't used to make a pipe bomb. This is despite the fact that Brian purchased the pipe in July 2011 and it was, wasn't used on the renovation until October 2013, over two years later. Brian's mother-in-law said that she'd sought the advice from Atco, a Canadian gas company, about how to protect her gas line, and they said to put a sleeve around it.

However, employees from Atco also testified to say that the standard practice is to use PVC or plastic piping for encasing gas lines, not metal piping. Additionally, Brian was a part owner of a home building company who routinely used plastic to encase the gas line, yet for his own home job, he supposedly chose metal. The court also heard from a private investigator who was hired by the defence, saying he took a video from Brian's mother-in-law's house that showed how the piping was being used. to protect the gas line. The crown called this a sham

that provided Brian with another explanation and a string of coincidences, saying he could have bought duplicate items with cash, leaving no paper trail. Brian's business partner at his home building company, Bob Yonou, testified, saying Bob went with his wife and Brian's wife, Christine,

to visit Brian at the Red Deer Reprimand Centre just after he'd been arrested. Brian asked for Bob to hang back for the last five minutes of the visit and then asked Bob to buy a container of gunpowder. Bob said that Brian mouthed that he was being set up by the RCMP and that he'd purchased two containers of gunpowder and if police only found one, he, quote, knew what they were trying to do. Bob said he was in shock when he heard this request.

Quote, him asking me to do this was even more of a shock. He was a brother to me and I couldn't understand why he wanted to get me involved and incriminate myself. Later on, Brian left a message on Bob's phone saying not to worry about getting the item they'd spoken about because it had been taken care of. Around this time, Bob and the third co-owner of the home building company

liquidated the company. Further forensic testimony provided details of visible tire tracks outside Victoria's building that had similarities to tyres on Brian's car, except the tracks didn't contain enough detail to confirm they were a match. Also, the court heard that police analysed partially burned gunpowder grains from the blast scene and compared them to the smokeless gunpowder that Brian had purchased. expert witness Dr Nigel Hearns said they were similar, but he couldn't say for certain that they were from the same batch.

In terms of Brian's own behaviour, the Crown said that Brian Mellie was often heard calling Vicky stubborn and lazy because she spent too much money and wouldn't get a job. He also once told his assistant that she was, quote, a pain in the ass. The defence told the jury about VIII. Vicky's stepfather warning her not to open the package without calling police first. Quote, in his mind he thought it was a bomb.

Why would he say that? What does he know? Bob Alonisi put forward that someone else had extreme hate for Victoria or her family, and they were the ones who sent the bomb, suggesting it could have been some of her relatives that had serious addiction issues and were in need of money. Rick Bersia, Vicky's stepfather and husband of her late mother, testified. He was asked why he warned Victoria not to open the package without calling the police first.

Rick replied that he was a naturally suspicious person and watches too many TV shows. He also told the court that Vicky wasn't at all an overspender. She provided for her daughter but only brought the essentials for herself. In his closing remarks to the jury, defense lawyer Bob Alonisi said suspicions do not amount to proof. Quote, the investigation was skewed against Brian Melly. They don't have the right person. The investigators shut out all other evidence. He went on to say that they had a huge gap and that there's no incriminating evidence. He said that the Crown's theory that Brian wanted to cut his losses was incorrect.

because there are much easier ways than to build a bomb and murder Victoria. Quote, he could just stop paying, no fuss, no must. He added that because Brian made upwards of $600,000 a year, he could afford to be generous, and could make the decision to continue paying or not, he was under no obligation to keep giving Vicky money. Quote, Mr Melley is being prosecuted because he cares for people,

In this case, a single mum in a wheelchair. The Crown's closing remarks, quote, It was clear that Victoria Shaktay was a difficult client for Brian Malley. She didn't have a job and she lived off of subsidy. Mr Mellie wanted their relationship to end. He thought she was lazy and annoying. He wanted to get her investment back to book value and then terminate their relationship.

But it never got back to book value. got down to zero. In July of 2011, Mr Melly began building a pipe bomb. The Crown prosecutor went on to say that the DNA evidence found on the package delivered to Vicky's home is key. Quote, there is no evidence that Mr Malley ever went inside Victoria Shaktay's residence. Mr. Melly's DNA was found on a piece of tape, paper and cardboard of the package. I suggest to you that Mr Mellie's DNA was on the bomb package because Mr Melley put the package there. During the course of the six-week-long trial,

50 witnesses testified and 100 exhibits were entered, and on February the 24th, 2015, the jury retired to deliberate. After six hours, they were back with a verdict. As his wife and daughter looked on from the front row, 57-year-old Brian Mellie was found guilty, of first-degree murder. He stood emotionless in the prisoner's box as the verdicts were hand down.

Brian declined to say anything at sentencing submissions. He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. For the other two charges, causing an explosion and sending a person an explosive device, Brian was given two years each to be served concurrently or at the same time as the murder sentence.

Outside court, Vicky's family told a waiting media that they were relieved. Her father, Victor Shaktay, said, quote, It's a big weight off my shoulders. I'm certain that Vicky would be satisfied with the outcome of this trial. When asked if he wished Brian Malley would have said something at court, Victor said, quote, I don't care about him. He's gone. I'll never have to worry about that man.

again and he's not on the streets killing other people. He then spoke about Vicky's daughter, Destiny, saying the now 11-year-old didn't really understand how her mother died. Quote, it's going to take a couple of years. She'll find out and we'll have to do what we have to do then. There's no use forcing her into this. Four months later, in June 2015, Brian Malley announced he was going to appeal the decision

and asked the court to release him on bail pending the appeal, but the Court of Appeal Justice said that he had good reason to skip bail and denied the request. The court decided to reserve its decision until a later date. In the meantime, the lawsuit against Brian Malley and his wife Christine settled for $10 million in 2015, although they continued to dispute the allegations. In October 2015, it was a lot of,

It was announced that Brian Malley's company was fined $400,000 for failing to supervise the branch in Red Deer, Alberta, that was staffed by Brian. The decision found he failed to ensure his recommendations to 10 clients were suitable and that he engaged in discretionary trading in the accounts of seven of the 10 clients. His wife, Christine Malley, was also permanently banned from the investment industry and find a further $250,000 for failing to supervise her husband as the branch manager. In September 2016, a new lawyer for Brian Malley, Nathan Whitling, asked the appeal court to set aside the conviction and order a new trial. He said that the trial judge erred in not allowing

the jury to hear evidence about other possible suspects in the case. He cited some of these other suspects as being associates linked to Vicky's brother who had a history of drug use and owed drug debts. Quote, it was kept from the jury. The jury was not able to consider it. If it had some probative value they should have, it may have raised a reasonable doubt and that's all that was required of this evidence. That's the only reason the defence sought to submit it. The Crown argued that there were no other viable suspects that could have committed the crime. And the time before Victoria was killed, there was no evidence that anyone out of these suspects had any animosity against her. Quote, there's no evidence that anyone had a motive to kill her.

There's no evidence that any of these individuals had the disposition to do that to her. These were simply red hearings that were properly kept away from the jury. The court took its time in making a judgment, and in June 2017, 10 months. months later, it dismissed the appeal application. The ruling detailed that the trial judge was justified in his decision to not allow the evidence in question because it was based on speculation and lacked the necessary evidence. Victoria's daughter Destiny is now around 14 years old. What a tragic story she has lived and will have to tell. By all accounts, it seems Destiny has been well taken care of by family, but that's of course no substitute for her own beloved mother.

Vicky's father, Victor Shackday, said he took strength from his memory of his daughter and how proud he was of her. Quote, she was a happy person. She was happy to be alive, happy to have a daughter. She coped with everything. She didn't feel sorry for herself or whine or cry. Thanks for listening. And thank you to the person who recommended this story to me. Unfortunately, you must have caught me at a busy time and I didn't even make a note of who you were, but there was only one of you, so thank you so much. If you wanted to get early access to my episodes, without any of the ads, it costs just $2 a month on Patreon. I also offer other perks too, so just go to patreon.com and search for Canadian true crime. My podcast suggestion

for this episode is wine and crime. This one is a true crime comedy podcast with three hilarious friends. Hey, true crime fans. Have you listened to Wine and Crime yet? We're a true crime comedy podcast hosted by three childhood friends who chug wine, chat true crime, and unleash our worst Minnesotan accents. Each week, us gals pick a true crime topic and pair it with a delicious wine before delving into the background and psychology behind the crime. Then we share and speculate.

wildly about a couple of bonkers cases related to the topic. Past episodes include necrophilia, cults, crimes of passion, cruise ship disappearances, exorcisms gone wrong, all this over a bottle of wine, or let's be real, three. Listen, anywhere you get your podcast, you can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at Wine and CrimePod, and check out our website and blog at Wine and Crimepodcast.com. Cheers! As always, a huge thanks to those who have left me five-star reviews on Apple Podcasts and other podcast apps. It really does help me to get a lift.

This episode, I am thanking these patrons. Christy Kay, Carenza G, Birdie R, Fiona G, Paul Andre S, Carolyn P, Carolyn P, and Dino C. This episode was researched and written by me. with audio production by Eric Crosby. I'll be back soon with another Canadian true crime story. See you soon.