Crown relinquishes bid to keep $435K found in Kurt Churchill's home during murder probe
Cash was discovered by officers executing search warrant after James Cody’s death
The Crown has abandoned its efforts to keep more than $435,000 seized by police from Kurt Churchill's home in the wake of a 2020 homicide in St. John's.
Churchill was charged with murder in relation to the death of James Cody on Craigmillar Avenue in St. John's five years ago.
Last September, those charges against Churchill were stayed, after his lawyers filed a successful Jordan application over unfair trial delays. The Crown is appealing that decision.
After Cody's death, Royal Newfoundland Constabulary investigators executed a search warrant at Churchill's home, where they discovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash.
The Mounties then launched a money laundering investigation. It did not result in any charges.
That set up a legal battle between the Crown, which filed an application to keep the money, and Churchill, who wanted to have it returned.
The matter went before a judge earlier this year, with several more hearing dates scheduled for this month.
But at provincial court in St. John's on Wednesday, federal Crown attorney Elaine Reid said prosecutors and police discussed the case between those appearances.
"We noted that Mr. Churchill was not charged with any offence in relation to this particular money," Reid told the court.
"And particular things that were mentioned, there were no drug trafficking charges, no evidence to support any offence that was put before the court."
Reid said the appropriate legal test is for the Crown to show beyond a reasonable doubt that the money they are seeking to have forfeited is "tainted by criminality."
Expert witness testimony about Churchill's finances in January raised "suspicion" and "concern" about the money, Reid said, but the Crown doesn't believe it can prove its claim beyond a reasonable doubt.
At the previous hearing, Churchill's lawyer Robby Ash referenced a number of bank accounts the forensic accountant did not include in her analysis, and flagged his client's investment in cryptocurrency.
Reid noted both of those submissions in advising the court that the Crown was seeking to withdraw its application.
The Crown also consented to Churchill's application to have the money returned, which Judge James Walsh granted.
Reid told the court that police have control of the money, and the order will be "actioned" after a period of 30 days has expired, noting that there may be "other lawful claims" to the cash.
According to an RCMP affidavit filed at court in 2021, most of the money seized was $20 bills — more than 14,000 of them. There were also nearly 2,000 $50 notes and almost 500 bills in the $100 denomination.
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With files from Ryan Cooke