Crown prosecutor David Allen Kidd is disbarred from practicing law for five years after a ruling from the Law Society of B.C. (Cliff MacArthur)

By Spencer Sterritt

mishandled

Former Nanaimo prosecutor disbarred for ignoring relevant evidence in murder case

Jun 17, 2020 | 4:09 PM

NANAIMO — A former Crown prosecutor based in Nanaimo is disbarred from practicing law for five years after failing to uphold his obligations while handling a homicide case.

David Allen Kidd was punished by the Law Society of B.C. in a May 27, 2020 ruling.

Kidd was the Deputy Regional Crown Counsel in Nanaimo in October, 2017 when he stepped into the homicide case against Larry Darling.

Darling was accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend Kristy Morrey in Port Alberni in 2006.

In either December 2018 or January 2019, a letter Morrey wrote about how her life had improved after leaving Darling was presented by her aunt to Kidd.

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This letter is at the heart of Kidd’s disbarring.

The aunt told the Law Society of B.C. Kidd told her “there’s so much disclosure going on right now, we don’t, I just can’t, don’t want to deal with this anymore. I don’t want to deal with it.”

He also later told the aunt when presented again with the letter “don’t give it to me, it will just fuel the fire” of the defense counsel.

By February, 2018, a new Crown prosecutor was involved in the case.

Once again the aunt brought up the letter, believing it to be relevant to the case.

Kidd admitted to telling her not to bring up the letters again, saying he didn’t want the new Crown Counsel to be “taken by surprise” as he’d been earlier.

The Law Society heard Kidd told the new prosecutor about the writing shortly after their February meeting.

However, the new Crown Counsel presented an entirely different recollection to the Society, saying Kidd didn’t mention the writings at all and he was first told about its existence by the family several months later.

The decision from the Law Society of B.C. ruled Kidd “ought to have known the writings were potentially relevant to the matter” and he “failed to discharge all responsibilities honourably and with integrity.”

Kidd’s ban means he cannot work in any legal capacity in the province for five years.

The ruling from the Law Society of B.C. noted Kidd’s mishandling of evidence is not the only reason a stay of proceedings was laid in the case against Darling.

Court documents released in 2018 showed evidence against Darling was compiled from a lengthy, $2 million scheme known as “Mr. Big.”

The tactic is used in cold cases, where officers build a relationship with the suspect and enlist them in a series of fake criminal acts until the suspect is entangled in a web of crime.

Once this happens, officers press the suspect for information about prior criminal acts.

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 2014 confessions arising from Mr. Big operations would from then on be considered “presumptively inadmissable,” while also upholding the use of the RCMP tactic.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @SpencerSterritt