A jury began deliberations Friday afternoon in the trial of a man accused of the 1984 rape and killing of a Winnipeg woman.
Robert Kociuk, 68, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder of Beverley Ann Dyke. An autopsy revealed Dyke, 48, was sexually assaulted and stabbed 13 times. Her partially nude body was found in a wooded area near the city's airport.
Kociuk faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 25 years if convicted of the most serious charge in the Criminal Code.
The case against Kociuk is complicated by the fact someone else previously admitted to the slaying. Leonard White -- who was himself killed in 1999 -- made the admission during a 1988 interview at a penitentiary in Prince Albert, Sask. He had been serving an 8 year prison term for aggravated assault. He claimed that he felt guilt over what he had done and even attempted suicide. Defence claims that he knew information about the murder, that was not contained within the media reports.
Kociuk’s lawyers argued this week White had a lengthy history of violence against women and even attempted suicide on the day Dyke’s body was found.
"Leonard White killed her," said lawyer Roberta Campbell in her closing statement this week. "He was a violent, dangerous, explosive psychopath."
However, police and justice officials have always discounted White’s claim, saying they believe he falsely confessed in an attempt to stay in prison with his gay lover. Police testified last week White had a history of making bogus confessions and only knew facts about Dyke's case that had already been revealed publicly through the media.
White claimed another man ,named "Ricky Morris," raped Dyke, but police said exhaustive police efforts could find no evidence such a person even existed.
Kociuk was initially interviewed as a potential suspect because he was seen by police in the area where the killing occurred on the day before Dyke's body was found by a jogger.
Kociuk had been under police surveillance for armed robbery and claimed he was meeting someone to buy a gun for his next heist.
"Wrong guy. I do hold-ups. You guys know. I don't do murder," he told investigators at the time. The robbery took place the next day. He was also seen searching the area where the body and knife were found days later by police. He claimed that he was picking up trash but when was told about the homicide investigation, changed his story and said that he was waiting for a man to deliver a gun to him for his next robbery and was looking for pop cans. He said that the other man chose this spot and claimed he knew nothing about a murder.
Although they had the semen sample from Dyke's body, DNA testing didn't exist at the time and it would take more than two decades until they could link the sample to Kociuk.
Kociuk continued to deny ever meeting Dyke, even after he was arrested in 2005 and confronted with the new forensic evidence. Police told him the chances of a mistake were one in 680 billion.
"That's impossible. It's not mine. It can't be mine," a Kociuk told homicide detectives in a videotaped interview played for the jury.
"I think you guys got your wires crossed here. I don't know this lady," he said.
Here are the previous media releases and stories about this trial:
1984 murder case finally in court (Sept.14, 2007)
This is a complicating case because of the many contradictions. I have a doubt that Robert Kociuk committed this murder because he was under constant surveillance by police and lived in a halfway house, so where did he have the opportunity to commit murder? All of his previous crimes had only been bank robberies and like he said, he doesn't do murders. I believe that he had sex with Dyke at some point, but did not kill her, because their is very limited evidence that ties him to the murder. I believe he should not be convicted of first degree murder or sexual assault, because their is really no evidence that suggests for a certainty, that he sexually assaulted (without consent) and killed this woman.
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