Appeal denied for Alberta man convicted of $1-million extortion, random murder

CALGARY -

Alberta's top court has denied an appeal for a man found guilty of trying to extort a businessman of $1 million and killing a random stranger.

Robert Hoefman had argued that much of the evidence against him was obtained illegally, such as through CCTV cameras.

But the Court of Appeal ruled that he had no reasonable expectation of privacy in those cases and further found police did not violate his rights.

The three-member panel said that none of the new evidence Hoefman introduced at his appeal hearing aided his case.

In his 2017 trial in Medicine Hat, Alta., court heard that Hoefman sent a number of letters to the business owner demanding the money.

The Crown argued Hoefman then stabbed a 63-year-old man with no connection to the case as a warning.

Court heard that Hoefman's DNA was on some letters and on his prescription glasses that were found underneath the victim, James Satre.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 4, 2023.