| By Byron Christopher on May 23, 2025 |
A 61-year-old Edmonton man who has spent more than half his life in prison is one step closer to freedom.
In 1991, a jury found Roy Sobotiak guilty of 2nd-degree murder in the disappearance of his former babysitter, Susan Kaminsky. Sobotiak, who was 26 at the time, was given a life sentence with no chance of parole for 16 and a half years.
Sobotiak was repeatedly turned down by the Parole Board — until the Federal Minister of Justice ruled on February 26th [2025] that his trial wasn’t fair and that he should get a new one.
The charges against Roy Sobotiak have now been turfed.
It was February 1987 when 34-year-old Susan [Susie] Kaminsky suddenly vanished. Following a police ‘sting’ operation, Roy Sobotiak was charged with Kaminsky’s murder, even though her remains hadn’t been located.
According to police, no body could be found because Sobotiak had dismembered his victim in his downtown apartment, then stuffed the remains in garbage bags and tossed them in a dumpster. Officers believe the remains ended up in a large dump northeast of the city. Detectives searched the area but failed to find anything. One officer remarked, “Have you ever been to the dump? It’s huge!”
At trial, police released a video — recorded secretly in a room at the Chateau Louis Hotel in north-central Edmonton — where Sobotiak supposedly fessed up. It was a sting operation where undercover officers — pretending to be drug bosses — tried to recruit Sobotiak.
Detectives plied Sobotiak, a drug user himself, with so much booze that he could barely make his way to the washroom.
Roy Sobotioak was arrested on September 27, 1989 — just two days after his 26th birthday.
For three and a half decades, Sobotiak has bounced around penitentiaries in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. The con describes his years of incarceration as “mental torture.’ He also said the Parole Board used ‘blackmail’ because inmates didn’t stand a chance unless they confessed.
The Federal Minister of Justice, Arif Virani, did not indicate publicly why Sobotiak should get a new trial, nor is the Minister required to do so.
Sobotiak’s case has attracted the attention of Toronto-based Innocence Canada which advocates on behalf of people who may have been wrongfully convicted. A senior lawyer with the non-profit group, James Lockyer, was in an Edmonton courtroom today fighting for Sobotiak’s release.
Sobotiak appeared in court in prison garb — an orange jump suit — and before the judge entered the courtroom, had words with Lockyer and the head of Innocence Canada, Win Wahrer.
I did not recognize Sobotiak and I suspect he didn’t recognize me. It’s been a while. We last met 35 years ago at the ‘Edmonton Max.’
The Crown had initially opposed bail, pointing out that Sobotiak’s appeals had already been tossed by higher courts. Today the Crown changed its tune. It said it no longer opposed bail, but wanted him placed under house arrest.
Lockyer began his submission by pointing out that Roy Sobotiak is Canada’s longest serving prisoner. He said when he met Sobotiak he was impressed with his “lack of bitterness.”
The lead lawyer for Innocence Canada opposed house arrest, arguing that house arrest substitutes one prison with another.
The judge had decided to release Sobotiak, and he wants it done today.
Sobotiak will be moved to Ross Residence, a private recovery facility in Fort McMurray in Northern Alberta. One of the conditions is that he’ll have to obey a curfew and wear an ankle bracelet
Meanwhile, Roy Sobotiak remains adamant that he did not kill Susan Kaminsky. The Author takes no position on his guilt or innocence.
Sobotiak, who has been described by a fellow inmate as a “pill-popper,” says his goal is to ‘clean up,’ land work as an industrial painter … and get on with his life. He’ll need more than luck to succeed because much of the world has changed since a jury found him guilty and he was led away in handcuffs.
In his closing argument, Lockyer said Roy Sobotiak has been behind bars for a very long time, pointing out that one of the lawyers in the courtroom was only four years old when he was incarcerated.
Good job, Byron.
Unfortunately, you and I both know the incompetence of the abilities of the Edmonton City Police when it comes to properly applying the basic investigation techniques to solve a homicide. A little lie here, a little “unintentional” mistake here, makes it easier to convict someone.
As I’m sure you will remember, they did the same thing in the White case.