Family of slain woman Kaila Tran given OK to sue ex-boyfriend Drake Moslenko

A Manitoba judge has granted members of Kaila Tran's family the right to sue her ex-boyfriend almost four years after she was stabbed 31 times in broad daylight in a parking lot near her St. Vital apartment building on June 20, 2012.

Court documents show a Court of Queen's Bench judge has approved an application by Tran's step-father and mother, Robert Fawley and Tracy Anger-Isinelli, to file a civil lawsuit against her former boyfriend Drake David Mosleneko. The suit accuses Mosleneko of responsibility for the wrongful death of Tran.

Jamie Kagan is the lawyer representing Fawley, Anger-Isinelli and Tiffany Tran, who now represents her sister Kaila's estate.

"You can imagine how this just replays in your head overnight when you're Kaila Tran's sister and you're trying to go to sleep at night," Kagan said. 

First-degree murder charges against Mosleneko were stayed in June of 2014 after he was accused of arranging to have Treyvonne Anthony Warner Willis kill Tran. 

• Treyvonne Willis guilty of 1st-degree murder in Kaila Tran's death
• Murder charges stayed in Kaila Tran death

Willis was found guilty April 24, 2015. He's eligible to apply for parole in about 14 years but has applied for an appeal of his conviction charges.

Tran was providing some economic support to Mosleneko before her death, Kagan said. She ended the relationship and was killed a short time later, Kagan said.

According to court documents, Tiffany alleges Mosleneko told her he and Tran's father were both named as beneficiaries to Tran's estate as part of her insurance policies.

Mosleneko then told Tiffany "[Kaila Tran's] murder would be classified as accidental" and the amount of money awarded to the beneficiaries would double as a result, the document states.

The doubling of an insurance benefit in the case of accidental death is known as "double indemnity," Kagan said — a concept he argued would be "very unusual for somebody in Mr. [Mosleneko's] position to understand."

"If you have a life insurance policy, most of them contain a provision that says if you die of natural causes you will receive $100,000, but if you die accidentally we'll double it. Almost an incentive that if your life is cut short suddenly without any forewarning we'll provide your family extra financial [support]."

After charges against Mosleneko were stayed, the family was motivated to try to stop him from getting his hands on those funds, Kagan added.

"There's not words in the English language that can describe the pain, frustration, and agony they've been through. To have your daughter, your sister, your best friend killed in broad daylight; to have the City of Winnipeg police say, 'We know who did it, we know both the killer and the motive, we believe this is what happened.'

"You sit back and believe the process is going to work for you and ultimately to see that the person that the police and the Crowns have identified walk free, walk out of criminal court, have his charges stayed and to think of him cashing a cheque of $165,000 dollars is inconceivable," Kagan said.

The new motion is in part designed to prevent Mosleneko from getting money from those insurance policies that is currently tied up in the courts, Kagan said. 

The family also hopes the process will make Moselenko have to take the stand and speak to what happened in the days leading up to and following Tran's death.

The new claim has yet to be filed in court. Once it is, Mosleneko will be able to file his defence.