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Sobotiak, 61, was released from custody for the first time since his 1989 arrest for the murder of Susan Kaminsky
Roy Sobotiak was given an Edmonton Oilers hat after leaving the Edmonton Remand Centre, Friday, May 23, 2025. On Friday, Sobotiak, 61, was granted release from custody for the first time since his 1989 arrest for the murder of Susan Kaminsky. Earlier this year, then-federal Justice Minister Arif Virani tossed Sobotiak’s conviction and ordered a new trial, saying a review of the case suggested Sobotiak was wrongfully convicted. Photo by David Bloom Photo by David Bloom /Postmedia
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The Roy Sobotiak who walked into an Edmonton courtroom this week barely resembled the man in the photo that has accompanied news articles about his case for 35 years.
The young man in the photo had dark brown hair, brown eyes, the barest trace of stubble. The man in court was grey — his long hair falling from the bare crown of his head to his neck. He wore a handlebar moustache, and a Cross on a necklace over a half-unzipped prisoner’s jumpsuit. He furrowed his brow and smiled faintly as he sat in the prisoner’s box, awaiting the judge.
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On Friday, Sobotiak, 61, was granted release from custody for the first time since his 1989 arrest for the murder of Susan Kaminsky. Earlier this year, then-federal Justice Minister Arif Virani tossed Sobotiak’s conviction and ordered a new trial, saying a review of the case suggested Sobotiak was wrongfully convicted.
Sobotiak’s lawyers say he is the longest-serving wrongfully convicted prisoner in Canadian history.
“When he went in, Mr. Sobotiak said to me a couple days ago, cellphones only fit in briefcases,” defence lawyer James Lockyer told Court of King’s Bench Justice Eric Macklin. “One of the lawyers here was four years old when he went into custody.”
Lockyer said the Alberta Crown — which is challenging Virani’s decision overturning the conviction — has yet to decide whether it will retry Sobotiak. In the interim, Sobotiak plans to live in a group home in Fort McMurray.
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Macklin said as it stands, Sobotiak is legally innocent. He declined the Crown’s request to order Sobotiak remain on house arrest, saying it was “neither necessary nor reasonable in the circumstances.”
When Sobotiak was freed from the Edmonton Remand Centre, exiting the facility around 10 p.m. Friday, he was met with a small throng of reporters and was asked if there was anything specific he looked forward to as a free man.
“Gathering up the shattered fragments of my life and living the best life I can with the time I’ve got left,” was his brief response.
Roy Sobotiak walks with his lawyer Katie Clackson after leaving the Edmonton Remand Centre, Friday, May 23, 2025. On Friday, Sobotiak, 61, was granted release from custody for the first time since his 1989 arrest for the murder of Susan Kaminsky. Earlier this year, then-federal Justice Minister Arif Virani tossed Sobotiak’s conviction and ordered a new trial, saying a review of the case suggested Sobotiak was wrongfully convicted. Photo by David Bloom Photo by David Bloom /PostmediaVictim’s body never found
Sobotiak was convicted of second-degree murder July 11, 1991, for the death of Kaminsky, who went missing in 1987 and has never been found. Kaminsky — Sobotiak’s one-time babysitter — spent the evening before her disappearance with Sobotiak and his mother. She was 34.
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A file photo of a young Roy Sobotiak who has been granted a new trial after spending more than 35 years in prison after being sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Susan Kaminsky, who disappeared in 1987.
Police arrested Sobotiak for first-degree murder in 1989. Jurors found him guilty after a trial that hinged in part on video of Sobotiak admitting he killed Kaminsky.
Sobotiak recently filed an application for a review of his case under section 696 of the Criminal Code. The federal justice minister, in a first, asked Innocence Canada to take on the case to ensure Sobotiak had legal counsel. The organization has helped exonerate 30 people, including David Milgaard.
Virani, who was advised by a judge, later filed a 166-page report revealing problems with evidence disclosure and “forensic issues” in the case. The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service’s response “strongly resisted, as strongly as you can imagine,” the minister’s conclusions, Lockyer said.
Lockyer said the fact the federal ministry decided to set aside the conviction is telling, noting they’re “hardly friends of Mr. Sobotiak.”
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“They’re prosecutors,” he said.
Roy Sobotiak talks with Innocence Canada’s Win Wahrar after walking out of the Edmonton Remand Centre, Friday, May 23, 2025. Photo by David Bloom Photo by David Bloom /PostmediaConcerning behaviour in prison: Crown
Alberta Crown prosecutor Joanne Dartana agreed to Sobotiak’s release but said he should remain on house arrest. She cited information from parole board reports and psychological assessments which found Sobotiak engaged in “aggressive and violent sexual fantasies” and other concerning behaviour toward female corrections staff.
He also allegedly possessed “graphic” sexualized content, some of it homemade, some involving children, she said.
Lockyer acknowledged the Crown painted a “pretty unpleasant picture” of his client, but stressed Sobotiak has been in an “unnatural environment” since he was 26.
“(He has) insisted since Day 1 he shouldn’t be there in the first place,” Lockyer said. “It’s hard to imagine the pressures he’s been under for all those years.”
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He added: “What’s surprising, perhaps, and should be known, is he has not been charged with a street charge in 36 years of extreme frustration.”
Lockyer opposed house arrest, saying it would “swap one prison for another.”
Macklin said the Crown’s concerns could largely be addressed short of house arrest, with conditions such as curfews and residence requirements.
He said putting Sobotiak on house arrest would be “tantamount to substituting one prison, albeit a more relaxed one with a different jailer, for another.”
The judge also made a point of criticizing the Edmonton Remand Centre, saying it was “entirely inappropriate” Sobotiak was not provided street clothes before Friday’s hearing. Sobotiak owns no non prison-issue clothing and “hasn’t got a penny to his name,” Lockyer said, noting Innocence Canada will be providing Sobotiak a “reasonably substantial amount of money” to start rebuilding his life.
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Prior to Virani’s decision, Sobotiak was incarcerated at Bowden Institution, located roughly 192 kilometres south of Edmonton.
Before Sobotiak, the longest-serving wrongfully convicted person in Canadian history was Romeo Phillion, who spent more than 32 years in prison.
-With files from David Bloom
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