PRESS RELEASE: ROY ALLAN SOBOTIAK
Wednesday, February 26, 2025
JUSTICE MINISTER ARIF VIRANI ANNOUNCES THAT HE HAS QUASHED THE SECOND DEGREE MURDER CONVICTION OF ROY ALLAN SOBOTIAK AFTER 35 YEARS.
Today, at noon, Minister of Justice Arif Virani announced that he was exercising his powers under the Criminal Code to quash Roy Sobotiak’s conviction for second degree murder and was directing that he have a new trial. This is the greatest power that the Minister can exercise in a wrongful conviction case.
On February 8, 1987, Susan Kaminsky, a resident of Edmonton, disappeared and was never seen again. To this day, her body has never been found.
On September 27, 1989, Mr. Sobotiak, then 26 years of age, was charged with first degree murder in Ms. Kaminsky’s presumed death.
On July 11, 1991, after a trial before Mr. Justice Cooke and a jury in the Alberta Queen’s Bench Court, Mr. Sobotiak was convicted of second degree murder.
On September 9, 1991, he was sentenced to life in prison with no eligibility for parole for 16 and a half years.
On July 31, 1994, his appeal to the Alberta Court of Appeal was dismissed.
On April 15, 2004, his application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was dismissed.
Mr. Sobotiak always insisted on his innocence and has never been granted parole. After more than 35 years in prison, he is currently imprisoned at a federal penitentiary in Alberta.
On February 19, 2021, Mr. Sobotiak applied for ministerial review pursuant to the Criminal Code as an unrepresented applicant. The Minister, as is usually the case, asked the Criminal Convictions Review Group (CCRG) to look into Mr. Sobotiak’s application.
After conducting an investigation, the CCRG asked Innocence Canada to assist Mr. Sobotiak in his application. Four Innocence Canada lawyers, James Lockyer, Jerome Kennedy K.C., Joanne McLean, and Pamela Zbarsky, worked on the case. We then made representations on Mr. Sobotiak’s application to the Minister as did the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service.
Today, the Minister announced that he was directing a new trial for Mr. Sobotiak. Innocence Canada has contacted the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service for their position on what the next steps should be. We will work with the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service for the next few days and weeks.
Innocence Canada has spoken to Mr. Sobotiak, who is now 62 years of age, and he expresses his gratitude to the Minister for his decision and hopes that he will be a free man soon.
Innocence Canada said today: “We are grateful to the Minister and the CCRG for the work they put into Mr. Sobotiak’s case. It is a testament to their dedication to justice in all cases. We are pleased to have assisted Mr. Sobotiak and will continue to do so in the next days and weeks.”
For further information, you can contact:
Jerome Kennedy K.C. 709-725-2966, James Lockyer 416-518-7983, or Pamela Zbarsky 416-294-6163.
Photo of Roy Sobotiak taken in 1991on a prison visit. Photographer: Bryon Christopher.