An appeals court in British Columbia has denied an insurance claim on a murder victim with an alleged criminal background.
Police say that Vancouver resident Kevin Valentyne was murdered in 2013 after he entered the house of known drug dealers in Vancouver. His body was never found.
According to a report by Vancouver media outlet The Georgia Straight, Valentyne’s insurer, Canada Life, denied a payout to his mother because the victim died while committing a crime. When Valentyne’s mother brought the claim to BC’s Supreme Court, the insurer presented an affidavit from police sergeant Dale Wiesman, declaring that Valentyne was known to be a drug trafficker, was affiliated with gang members, and had been jailed in the past for trafficking drugs. The judge sided with the insurer, dismissing the application.
Valentyne’s mother then appealed to the BC Court of Appeal, protesting the court’s acceptance of Weidman’s affidavits.
The Georgia Straight reported that the three-judge panel agreed that the trial judge made errors, but also concluded that Valentyne’s mother conceded at trial that her son was associated with a criminal gang and was murdered by members of a rival gang.
“Having made those appropriate concessions—taking the position that Mr. Valentyne was murdered as a result of his involvement in criminal activity—Ms. Valentyne cannot repudiate that position in this Court,” said the panel, ultimately siding with the insurer.
“The only logical inference from this circumstantial evidence is that he bought or sold drugs at that location, was murdered, and therefore died while committing a criminal offence, invoking the exclusion clause.”
