Judge orders laptop with Bitcoin wallet returned to family of convicted killer

HALIFAX · A Nova Scotia judge has ordered that a laptop containing a Bitcoin wallet be returned to the family of convicted murderer William Sandeson. Justice John Bodurtha of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the Crown failed to prove the cryptocurrency was linked to the 2015 killing of Taylor Samson. The judge, however, upheld the forfeiture of $5,000 in cash found in Sandeson's apartment, deeming it proceeds of crime. Sandeson is serving a life sentence for the second-degree murder of his fellow Dalhousie University student.

Justice Bodurtha delivered the decision in Halifax Supreme Court, ordering the laptop be returned to Sandeson's family. He found prosecutors did not meet their burden of proving a connection between the Bitcoin and Samson's murder. "The Crown has not met its burden to demonstrate the cryptocurrency was used as part of the drug transaction, proceeds of crime, or otherwise tainted by criminality," Bodurtha said. He added that its potential use in the deal was "hypothetical" and there was no evidence Sandeson actually intended to use it.

The laptop and its contents were never introduced as evidence during Sandeson's criminal trial. Police seized the device, cash and other items from Sandeson's Halifax apartment during the initial murder investigation. Earlier this year, Sandeson launched legal action to try to recover the cash and computer, which prompted a Crown forfeiture application. Prosecutors had argued both items were "tainted by criminality" and should not be returned. While the cash was found concealed at the bottom of a garbage can and was deemed offence-related property, the judge applied the same standard to the digital assets. Bodurtha determined prosecutors had not shown the Bitcoin was proceeds of crime or connected to the killing. The cash forfeiture shows the Crown can meet that evidentiary bar when the facts support it, as they did for the physical currency.

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The value of the Bitcoin wallet is disputed. Sandeson has said the cryptocurrency was worth between $8,000 and $10,000. Other estimates tied to civil litigation run to more than $200,000. The wallet had been at the centre of a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Samson's family. Linda Boutilier, Samson's mother, was in court for Tuesday's ruling but declined to comment.

Sandeson, who appeared by video from a prison in Quebec during the hearing, was convicted of second-degree murder in February 2023. The killing occurred on August 15, 2015, when Sandeson lured Samson to his apartment under the pretext of a cannabis transaction. Sandeson shot Samson, kept the drugs and money, and later admitted to disposing of the body in the Bay of Fundy. Samson's remains have never been recovered.

Sandeson was initially convicted of first-degree murder in 2017, but that conviction was overturned on appeal. At his second trial in 2023, he admitted to killing Samson but claimed he acted in self-defence. A jury found him guilty of second-degree murder, which carries an automatic life sentence. He will be eligible for parole in 2030.

With files from TradingView, CBC News and Global News