Carol King’s ex-boyfriend plans to plead not guilty, his lawyer says.
The 53-year-old, Joseph “David” Caissie, made his first appearance at Saskatoon Provincial Court on Wednesday, one day after he was arrested near the SaskTel Centre. He’s charged with first-degree murder and offering an indignity to a human body in connection to King’s 2011 death.
His lawyer said he’s always maintained his innocence and is not planning to plead guilty.
“He was providing police with the information they needed, they wanted,” lawyer Ron Piche said outside court. “People who don’t cooperate are usually seen by police as very suspicious, and that’s not Mr. Caissie right now.”
King disappeared on Aug. 6, 2011 near Herschel, Sask. Her car was found days later in a slough east of her home, and later that month her remains were found a few kilometres from where the car was recovered.
She was 40 years old. King moved to the Prairies from the East Coast a few years prior to her death.
Her house was damaged in a fire a few months after she disappeared. RCMP said at the time the fire was likely set deliberately.
A mysterious memorial was also erected a few months after the death. Someone put up a granite stone bearing a cross on an abandoned property in the area.
A passage on the memorial read: “The Lord he came and got me, and took me far away. Remember, I wasn’t in my body when the Devil came to play.”
It also stated: “Please don’t give him your hate, he’s not worth it.”
Caissie, who is from Bluffton, Alta., spoke with CTV News a few days after the fire. He said he had nothing to do with the death and the strange circumstances surrounding it.
--- with files from The Canadian Press
