A Nova Scotia judge ordered a laptop holding a Bitcoin wallet returned to the family of convicted killer William Sandeson. Prosecutors failed to prove the crypto was tied to the 2015 murder of Taylor Samson. The wallet's value remains disputed.
A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge has ordered a laptop containing a Bitcoin wallet returned to the family of William Sandeson, who is serving a life sentence for the 2015 murder of fellow university student Taylor Samson. Justice John Bodurtha ruled on Tuesday that prosecutors had not proved the cryptocurrency was linked to the killing.
Sandeson, who appeared virtually at the hearing in Halifax, had filed a motion in April seeking the return of personal items seized when police searched his apartment after his arrest in 2015. The judge found the Crown's argument that the crypto played a part in the drug deal was hypothetical.
Cash stays seized, crypto goes back
Bodurtha did not return everything. He ruled that about $3,600 (C$5,000) in cash found in Sandeson's apartment after the murder was offence-related property, so it will not be returned.
The value of the wallet is disputed. According to Global News, Sandeson has said the Bitcoin was worth between about $5,800 and $7,200 (C$8,000 to C$10,000). A lawyer for Samson's family has said it could now be worth more than $144,000 (C$200,000). Global News did not report how much Bitcoin the cryptocurrency wallet holds.
The case behind the ruling
The wallet was at the center of a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Samson's family. Prosecutors said at Sandeson's 2023 trial that he arranged for Samson, 22, to come to his apartment on August 15, 2015 to sell him cannabis. Samson's remains have never been found.
Sandeson was convicted of first-degree murder in 2017, but an appeals court overturned the verdict in 2020. A jury found him guilty of second-degree murder at a second trial in 2023, which carries an automatic life sentence. He will be eligible for parole in 2030.
Source: Decrypt
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