Alberta murder trial hears testimony from undercover Mountie known as Mr. Big

RED DEER, Alta. – “Mr. Big” took the stand Friday at the trial of two central Alberta men accused of killing three members of a family.

Jason Klaus and Joshua Frank are each charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the 2013 deaths of Gordon, Sandra and Monica Klaus.

An undercover Mountie who posed as an organized crime boss known as Mr. Big testified how RCMP staged a sting operation in the hope of getting Klaus to confess to killing his own family.

The court has heard that Klaus eventually admitted that he helped plan their deaths, but said it was Frank who shot them before burning the farmhouse they were in to the ground.

The officer testified that he told Klaus that he had a dying uncle who was willing to take the fall for the murders to get Frank off the hook. But before doing so he needed to have all of the details regarding what took place.

Klaus then arranged a meeting between Mr. Big and Frank, which took place in a parking lot at a mall near Calgary on July 19, 2014.

In a taped conversation that was played in court, Frank told the undercover Mountie how he went about shooting each of the three family members twice in the head. He then said he shot the family’s dog and lit the house on fire.

Frank also told Mr. Big where he threw the keys to Monica Klaus’s pickup truck after disposing of it following the shootings.

He then took Mr. Big and other RCMP officers who were posing as crime organization members to the area of the Battle River where he threw the pistol he had used and some clothing into the water.

A video of their visit to the area was also played in court on Friday.

“Would it be safe to say you’re a stone-cold killer?” Mr. Big asked.

“I guess,” Frank replied.

Mr. Big also asked “What made you talk freely like this?”

“If it helps J(ason), it helps me.”

The Mounties involved in the sting can’t be named under a court-ordered publication ban.

Justice Eric Macklin, who is hearing the case without a jury, is to determine if the evidence is admissible.

The trial is to resume in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench on Monday.

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