Jury debates fate of man accused of killing 12-year-old B.C. girl 40 years ago

VANCOUVER — Jurors have begun deliberations in the trial of a man accused of killing a 12-year-old girl in British Columbia over 40 years ago.

Nine men and three women will decide the fate of Garry Handlen, who pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.

Jurors will consider Handlen’s alleged confession to an undercover RCMP officer who heard the man say he abducted, sexually assaulted and strangled Monica Jack in May 1978.

The alleged hidden-camera confession that jurors watched during the 11-week trial was characterized as false by Handlen’s defence team.

Handlen told a supposed crime boss he grabbed Jack from a highway pullout in Merritt and drove up a hill where he killed her, burned her clothes and left her body.

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In his final instructions to jury members, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Austin Cullen said they would need to use their common sense to decide the reliability of the alleged confession.

The Canadian Press