The David Milgaard Case
Early in the morning of January 31, 1969, David Milgaard, then 16 years old, Nichol
John and Ronald Wilson drove from Regina to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In Saskatoon, sometime before 7:00 a.m. on
that morning they stopped a woman walking by their car to ask for directions. Shortly after that the car became stuck,
Wilson and Milgaard got out of the car and walked away in different directions to seek assistance. Wilson returned to
the car before Milgaard.
Sometime that morning, Gail Miller, 20, a nurse’s aide, was robbed, sexually assaulted and murdered and her body later
found in a Saskatoon snow bank.
Although both at the time and throughout his ordeal, David Milgaard denied any involvement in the murder, his
testimony did confirm a number of other details.
At some point during the trip from Regina to Saskatoon, Milgaard had broken into a building.
He admitted that when they stopped the pedestrian to ask for directions that he looked at her with a view to possibly
robbing her. Other evidence indicates that Gail Miller’s purse was taken by somebody and thrown in a garbage can.
Milgaard confirmed that a compact or makeup bag was found in the Wilson car after they left Saskatoon. It had not
been there earlier. When Nichol John inquired about it, David Milgaard seized it and threw it out of the car and could
not give any explanation for his actions.
Milgaard also told his counsel that he may have had a knife in his possession when he arrived in Saskatoon.
Albert Cadrain, whom the group had picked up in Saskatoon, testified that he saw blood on the pants and shirt of
Milgaard when Milgaard changed his clothes at the Cadrain house.
In mid-1969 David Milgaard was arrested and charged with Gail Miller’s murder.
On January 31, 1970, following a trial by judge and jury, the accused was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to
life imprisonment.
In 1971, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal confirmed the conviction. Also in 1971, the accused application for leave to
appeal his conviction to the Supreme Court of Canada was dismissed.
While in prison, Milgaard was sexually assaulted and tried to commit suicide. In 1973, Milgaard escaped from Stony
Mountain Penitentiary, north of Winnipeg. He was later returned to prison.
In 1980, he did not return to prison after being released on day pass. He was shot while being recaptured 77 days later.
In December 1988, David Milgaard’s lawyers applied to have the case reopened. Also in 1988, his lawyers made an
unsuccessful attempt to get DNA testing done.
On February 27, 1991, Kim Campbell, then Federal Justice Minister, turned down the request to reopen the case.
In August 1991 Milgaard’s lawyers tried again to have the case reopened.
On November 29, 1991, Campbell directed the Supreme Court to review Milgaard’s conviction on the basis that there
was widespread concern whether there was a miscarriage of justice in David Milgaard’s conviction and that it was in the
public interest that the matter should be inquired into.
In 1992 there was another unsuccessful attempt to get DNA testing done.
On April 14, 1992 the Supreme Court found that:
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It is believed Milgaard had had the benefit of a fair trial in
January, 1970;
It had not been presented with any valid evidence that the
police had acted improperly in the investigation or in their
interviews with any of the witnesses;
Nor was there evidence that there had been inadequate
disclosure in accordance with the practice prevailing at the
time;
Milgaard was represented by able and experienced counsel;
No error in law or procedure had been established;
At the conclusion of the trial, there was ample evidence upon which the jury, which had been properly
instructed, could return a verdict of guilty.
Fresh evidence "placed before us which is reasonably capable of belief and which taken together with
the evidence adduced [brought out] at the trial could reasonably be expected to have affected the
verdict. We will therefore be advising the [justice] Minister to quash the conviction and direct a new
trial."
The "fresh evidence" included the fact that a key witness against Milgaard at the trial, Ronald Wilson, changed his
testimony. Additional evidence suggested Milgaard’s alleged confession might not have taken place. And more
importantly, there was evidence concerning sexual assaults committed by Larry Fisher that came to light in October
1970, when Fisher made a confession.
David Milgaard was freed in 1992 when the Saskatchewan government decided not to try him again. He was not
formally acquitted. On July 18, 1997, Milgaard’s lawyers announced that DNA tests proved Milgaard did not kill Miller.
That day he received an apology from Saskatchewan for his wrongful conviction.
On July 25, 1997, Larry Fisher was arrested in Calgary for the rape and murder of Gail Miller. His trial began in Yorkton,
Saskatchewan, on October 12, 1999. Larry Fisher was found guilty of the murder of Gail Miller on November 22, 1999.
In May, 1999 the Saskatchewan government and the Milgaard family agreed to a compensation package for Milgaard in
the area of $10 million.