REGINA - A Regina man has pleaded guilty to killing a young mother whose body was dumped in an industrial garbage bin and of another woman whose remains have never been found.
Clayton Eichler's trial was to begin Monday on charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of Kelly Goforth and Richele Bear. But there was a surprise guilty plea to second-degree murder.
Crown prosecutor Bill Burge said justice was served.
"There was a path to first-degree. It wasn't a dead-certain path, but there was a path that met the test for prosecution. There were risks and we felt this was a compromise we could live with and that's why we took the plea to second-degree," Burge said outside Court of Queen's Bench in Regina.
Goforth was last seen Sept. 24, 2013.
Court heard her body was found the next day, wrapped in garbage bags, placed in a hockey bag and thrown in a Dumpster. She was 21 years old and had a young son.
Burge said DNA found on Goforth's hand and on a necktie around her neck belonged to Eichler.
"That led to a search of Mr. Eichler's home where we found photographs of Richele Bear. It was very obvious that she was not participating in what was happening in these photographs, and she had a mark around her neck, which made it appear that she was certainly dead," he said.
"The cause of death of Kelly Goforth was ligature strangulation and, when you look at both of these together, it became clear what happened to Richele Bear."
Bear, 23, was reported missing Sept. 5, 2013, although police have said the exact time and date of her disappearance is not known.
Defence lawyer Morris Bodnar said he was ready for the trial to start when Eichler, 35, changed his plea. Bodnar said it was the advice he had given Eichler.
"I've reviewed all the transcripts, I've reviewed all the evidence and I thought that on one count he would be convicted of second-degree murder. On the other count, I thought there was a strong possibility ... so I made a call to do that," said Bodnar.
He would not say if Eichler has ever expressed remorse or given a motive for the killings.
The Crown and defence made a joint submission that Eichler serve 20 years of his automatic life sentence before being eligible for parole.
Victim impact statements were scheduled to be heard Tuesday before sentencing.
Bear's aunt, Angela Gray, said the guilty plea was a long time coming, but she's satisfied with it.
"I believe 20 years is not enough of a sentence for the girls' death sentence. I feel he should get two life sentences," said Gray, as she wiped her eyes with a tissue.
Gray said she still doesn't feel closure because Bear's body cannot be properly buried.
The File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council and the Regina Treaty-Status Indian Services office said the women were valued daughters, sisters, aunts, nieces, granddaughters, cousins and friends.
"There will be aspects of Kelly and Richele's lifestyles that will be exposed to the public," the release said. "It is the responsibility of all of us as citizens to understand the realities and the vulnerabilities of our indigenous women are due to the immense poverty that is often faced by our indigenous people in the cities.
"As such, indigenous women are forced to put themselves at greater risk for harm."
The release said women should never expect "that any lifestyle choice should make them a target for predators to hurt them or end their lives.
