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Klaus blamed co-accused for murdering his family

Oct 30, 2017 | 6:50 PM

Jason Klaus says Joshua Frank killed his parents and sister, and that he had nothing to do with it.

Week two of the triple murder for Klaus and Frank got underway in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench on Monday. The two stand charged in the Dec. 2013 deaths of Gordon, Sandra and Monica Klaus.

Court continued watching video of RCMP interviews with Jason Klaus on Aug. 16, 2014, the day after he’d been arrested and charged.

In the video, investigators told Klaus he’d given them information about the murders only the killer could have known.

Klaus countered by saying he’d tricked Frank into confessing to the killings by telling him bush cameras hidden on the farm caught him in the act.

“He said he was the one who murdered my parents and sister,” Klaus told investigators. “I got that out of him two or three different times.”

Klaus said Frank told him he’d shot the Klaus’ dog before entering the house.

“He said the door was open. [He] went into Monica’s room, shot her. Went into my parent’s room, shot them. And then came back and shot Mon[ica] again.”

Klaus told RCMP that Frank then went to a nearby Quonset for a can of gas before returning to the home and setting it on fire.

“He didn’t say a specific reason,” Klaus said in regards to Frank’s motivation for killing the trio. “We had talked before, just how, you know, he said before he had no trouble killing anybody. It was just hearsay talk though. Booze talk and whatever.”

Klaus claims Frank then tried to extort money from him after confessing to the murders, saying he would be next if he didn’t pay up.  

Klaus also said he had details because of a visit he received from Monica’s spirit not long after the killings, saying the spirit told him who killed his family and how they died.

The remainder of Klaus’ interrogation tape will be played on Tuesday. Justice Eric Macklin will then decide if Klaus’ statements were made voluntarily and can be admitted as evidence. Then a second voir dire will get underway to determine the admissibility of statements made by Frank.