Violent sex offender released in Edmonton after murder charges stayed by Crown
Crown says there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction
A violent sex offender who was once dubbed Edmonton's "Mill Woods Rapist" has been released from custody after a murder charge against him was stayed.
Dana Michael Fash was charged in December 2016 with second-degree murder in the death of Jeanette Marie Cardinal.
The 40-year-old mother of five from Beaver Lake Cree Nation in northeastern Alberta was found dead in an Edmonton home in 2011.
Alberta Justice says the Crown stayed the charge Wednesday because there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction.
They say they understand the decision will be difficult for Cardinal's family and extended their sympathies.
Fash was called the "Mill Woods Rapist" following two attacks in the south Edmonton neighbourhood in 1994.
In November of that year, he sexually assaulted a 65-year-old woman at her home at knife point. The next month, he sexually assaulted a 44-year-old woman while she was working as a custodian in an elementary school. He had armed himself with scissors.
Fash was convicted on two counts of sexual assault and sentenced to 12 years in prison.