I know a few people have been waiting YEARS for this trial to be happening. I bet there are some people who thought this trial might not happen.
Here are some of the stories run last week by the Vancouver Sun and The Province.
Jean Ann James bows her head as she leaves BC Supreme Court in Vancouver. James is on trial for the murder of Gladys Wakabayashi, whose throat was slashed in 1992
Photograph by: Ric Ernst, PNG
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THE VANCOUVER SUN - OCTOBER 12th 2011 - KIM BOLAN
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Richmond Senior “Confessed” to 1992 Murder: Crown
VANCOUVER - A 72-year-old Richmond woman confessed to slashing the throat of her husband’s wealthy mistress two decades ago after police launched an undercover sting into the unsolved murder in 2007, B.C. Supreme Court heard Wednesday.
Jean Ann James is charged with first-degree murder in the Shaughnessy slaying of her former friend Gladys Wakabayashi, the daughter of a Taiwanese billionaire, on June 24, 1992.
The charge was finally laid three years ago, after undercover officers posed as members of a criminal organization that recruited James, Crown prosecutor Jennifer Horneland told jurors in her opening statement.
Police arranged a chance encounter between James and an undercover operator and the two women “became friends and bonded,” Horneland explained.
Soon, the operator asked James for help doing “various tasks for the criminal organization such as delivering packages, moving vehicles and meeting with buyers of counterfeit products,” the jury heard.
Eventually James was taken to Montreal for a meeting to discuss her potential role with the purported crime boss, and it was during this meeting that James laid out details of the Wakabayashi murder, Horneland said.
“She killed Gladys Wakabayashi because she had done a little digging and found that Gladys Wakabayashi had been having an affair with her husband. A few days after learning this, she told Gladys Wakabayashi that she had a gift for her and would like to bring it to her home,” Horneland said.
She said that James carefully planned the murder and laid out those plans in the video-taped confession to undercover police in November 2008. The tape will be played later in the trial.
“You will hear from Jean James that she was sneaky about it and that she parked her car five blocks away from Gladys Wakabayashi’s home, that she walked down the lanes rather than on the sidewalks to get to the residence. She put a necklace, which was the gift, around Mrs. Wakabayashi’s neck and slit her throat with a boxcutter.”
James also stabbed Wakabayashi’s legs and claimed she would call her friend an ambulance if she gave “a truthful account of the affair,” Horneland said.
“You will hear Jean James say that she had no intention of calling an ambulance and that she slashed Gladys Wakabayashi on her legs because she wanted to get information from her and particularly she wanted to know how long the affair had been going on,” the prosecutor told jurors.
The videotape shows James describing how she wore gloves and destroyed evidence, disposing of the murder weapon in a metal dumpster on the other side of town, Horneland said.
James’s lawyer Raj Basra urged jurors not to jump to conclusions and to examine all the evidence presented during the trial carefully. And, he said, the central issue in the case is the reliability of the video-taped confession.
“Be critical about what you hear and ultimately keep an open mind in this case,” Basra said in his brief opening.
Horneland said the Crown will call 33 witnesses, including friends of James, who are expected to testify that she had learned of her husband Derek James’s affair with Wakabayashi. And Wakabayashi’s former husband, Shinji, and daughter, Elisa, who was just 12 at the time, are expected to be called this week.
One friend is expected to detail a lunch she had with James, in which the accused killer said “Derek was having an affair with a very, very wealthy oriental woman and that this woman Derek was having an affair with was supposed to be her friend,” Horneland said.
Several police witnesses will be called, Justice Catherine Bruce heard, including officers from the original Vancouver Police investigation as well as the undercover sting 16 years later, and a blood-spatter expert.
James sat in the prisoner’s box, emotionless, as Horneland spoke.
Wakabayashi, 41, was separated from her husband when she was killed. The court heard that she loved playing the piano and missed a lesson on the morning she was killed.
She shared her home at 6868 Selkirk St. with her young daughter, whom she failed to pick up from school that day, Horneland said.
Elisa Wakabayashi called her dad to come and get her instead. He discovered Wakabayashi fatally wounded in the dressing area between her bedroom and ensuite, Horneland said.
Wakabayashi was described in court as a soft-spoken woman. Jurors heard that in addition to her affair with Derek James, an air-traffic controller, she had a two-year relationship with a Chilliwack music teacher named Joseph Bayer.
The trial is expected to last six weeks.
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THE PROVINCE - OCTOBER 12th 2011 - KEITH FRASER
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Woman confessed to killing husband's mistress with box cutters, court told
A Richmond woman confessed to undercover police that she used box cutters to slash the throat of a friend who she believed was having an affair with her husband, a jury heard Wednesday.
Jean Ann James was 69 years old when she was arrested in December 2008 and charged with first-degree murder in the June 1992 slaying of Gladys Wakabayashi, 41, the daughter of a Taiwanese billionaire.
Prosecutor Jennifer Horneland told the jury that police did not have sufficient evidence to lay charges following their initial investigation.
The case lay cold until 2007 when the file was reviewed by the unsolved-homicide investigation unit.
New witnesses were interviewed, old witnesses were re-interviewed and police launched a year-long undercover operation against James.
At a meeting in Montreal with police posing as members of a criminal organization, James confessed to the murder.
“She killed Gladys Wakabayashi because she had done a little digging and found that Gladys Wakabayashi had been having an affair with her husband,” said Horneland.
“A few days after learning this, she told Gladys Wakabayashi that she had a gift for her and would like to bring it to her home.”
Horneland said James was “sneaky” and parked her car five blocks away from the victim’s home on Selkirk Street in Vancouver’s posh Shaughnessy neighbourhood, then walked down the lanes rather than on the sidewalks to get to the residence.
“She put a necklace, which was the gift, around Mrs. Wakabayashi’s neck and slit her throat with a boxcutter,” she said.
“You will hear Jean James explain that Gladys Wakabayashi struggled, so she told Gladys that she would call an ambulance if she would give a truthful account of the affair.”
The prosecutor said the accused had no intention of calling an ambulance and slashed the victim on the legs because she wanted to get information from her, including as to how long the affair had lasted.
Horneland said the evidence will show that Wakabayashi had several incise wounds to her arms and her legs, many deep incise wounds to her chest and a massive encircling wound to her neck.
The autopsy revealed that the encircling neck wound was the cause of death, she said.
A blood-spatter expert is expected to testify that Wakabayashi died while in a seating or leaning position.
The Crown counsel said that 33 witnesses will be called including the Wakabayashi’s former husband, her daughter and her brother, as well as friends and acquaintances of the victim.
Court will hear that the slaying was discovered after the victim had failed to pick up her then-12-year-old daughter from school, said Horneland.
The daughter phoned her father, who picked her up and returned to the home, where the victim’s body was discovered in the master bedroom, she said.
Raj Basra, a lawyer for James, cautioned the jury to remember the presumption of innocence for an accused.
He said the central issue at trial will be the reliability of the confession.
“Be critical about what you hear and ultimately keep an open mind in this case.”
The first witness, Edward Parker, 81, the victim’s former piano teacher, told the jury he felt “very apprehensive” when she failed to show for her regular one-hour long lesson.
He said he phoned the Wakabayashi residence but could only get a recorded message.
“I thought that was strange. She was very precise about appointments ... I felt there was something very serious happening.”
Parker said it wasn’t until the next day that he was told the “tragic” news.
He described his former pupil as “a very gentle, soft-spoken” woman who didn’t initiate conversations.
“She was a little bit shy. We didn’t go for coffee at all. She had her lesson. It was an hour long and then she’d be on her way.”
The trial continues.
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THE PROVINCE - OCTOBER 13th 2011 - KEITH FRASER
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Wife confessed to murder: Crown
Jury hears opening statement in case of Gladys Wakabayashi's alleged slaying
Jean Ann James was 69 years old when she was arrested in December 2008 and charged with first-degree murder in the June 1992 slaying of Gladys Wakabayashi, 41, the daughter of a Taiwanese billionaire.
Prosecutor Jennifer Horneland told the jury that police didn't have sufficient evidence to lay charges following their initial investigation.
The case lay cold until 2007, when the file was reviewed by the unsolved-homicide investigation unit.
New witnesses were interviewed, old witnesses were re-interviewed and police launched a yearlong undercover operation against James, who was married to Derek James, an air traffic controller.
At a meeting in Montreal, with police posing as members of a criminal organization, James confessed to the murder.
"You will hear Jean James explain that she killed Gladys Wakabayashi because she had done a little digging and found that Gladys Wakabayashi had been having an affair with her husband," said Horneland.
"A few days after learning this, she told Gladys Wakabayashi that she had a gift for her and would like to bring it to her home."
Horneland said James was "sneaky" and parked her car five blocks away from the victim's home on Selkirk Street in Vancouver's posh Shaughnessy neighbourhood, then walked down the lanes rather than on the sidewalks to get to the residence.
"She put a necklace, which was the gift, around Mrs. Wakabayashi's neck and slit her throat with a box cutter," she said.
"You will hear Jean James explain that Gladys Wakabayashi struggled, so she told Gladys that she would call an ambulance if she would give a truthful account of the affair."
The prosecutor said the accused had no intention of calling an ambulance and slashed the victim on the legs because she wanted to get information from her, including as to how long the affair had lasted. Horneland said the evidence will show that Wakabayashi had several incised wounds to her arms and her legs, many deep-incised wounds to her chest and a massive encircling wound to her neck.
The autopsy revealed that the encircling neck wound was the cause of death, she said.
A blood-spatter expert is expected to testify that Wakabayashi died while in a seating or leaning position, between the open passage between the ensuite bathroom and the bedroom.
Court will hear that the slaying was discovered after the victim failed to pick up her then-12-year-old daughter from school, said Horneland.
The daughter phoned her father, who picked her up and returned to the home, where the victim's body was discovered.
Raj Basra, a lawyer for James, cautioned the jury to remember the presumption of innocence for an accused.
He said the central issue at trial will be the reliability of the confession.
"Be critical about what you hear and ultimately keep an open mind in this case," he said.
James has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. The well-dressed elderly woman sat quietly in the prisoner's dock during the first day of the trial.
Wakabayashi's husband, Shinji Wakabayashi, and her daughter, Elisa, are expected to testify today.
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THE PROVINCE - OCTOBER 14th 2011 - KEITH FRASER
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Accused murderer was found in victim’s bedroom days before attack, court told
Shinji Wakabayashi leaves Supreme Court after testifying at the murder trial of Jean Ann James. James is accused in the murder of Wakabayashi’s former wife, Gladys.
Photograph by: Gerry Kahrmann, The Province
Shinji Wakabayashi told a B.C. Supreme Court jury that James had called him two days after the June 24, 1992, slaying, while he was staying at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver.
“She told me, ‘I’ve been looking for you,’ and asked me what had happened,” the Japan Airlines manager said. “I told her I can’t say anything just yet ... After I explained that to her, she said, ‘Yes, I understand,’ and I hung up.”
Two days later, he met James while the two were visiting the victim’s mother, he said.
“She asked me how (Gladys) was killed. I told her I can’t really explain much but I told her I saw her laying on her back, face upward and there was a cut on her neck.”
James has pleaded not guilty to one count of first-degree murder of her friend, Gladys Wakabayashi, the daughter of a Taiwanese billionaire.
The Crown’s theory is that James slit her friend’s throat after learning that Gladys was having an affair with her husband, Derek James.
Prosecutors say that following a police sting, James confessed to the murder.
Shinji Wakabayashi, who was separated from his wife at the time of the slaying, testified that on the day of the murder, he picked up his daughter Elisa after her mom had failed to pick her up from school.
The father and daughter went to Gladys’ home on Selkirk Street in the posh Shaughnessy neighbourhood.
Wakabayashi said the back door was unlocked, an unusual circumstance, and there was no answer when he called out Gladys’ name.
He went upstairs and went into the master bedroom where he found Gladys laying on her back.
“I saw a big cut on her leg. I tried to push her left arm. I felt something was not right.”
Wakabayashi said he tried to call 911 but was not able to get through and went next door to his brother-in-law, where police were called.
He testified that prior to the murder, his daughter and a son of James attended the same school and the families frequently socialized with one another.
The Crown played a number of recorded but undated messages from Gladys Wakabayashi’s telephone message machine, identified by Wakabayashi as being from both Jean James and Derek James.
Several of the messages from Derek James expressed intimacy.
“Hi love, just me,” says one message. “Saturday night. I was just calling. Thank you, bye.”
Another from Derek James said: “Hi darling, it’s me. I’ll call you back sometime. Don’t call me. I’ll call you.”
Under cross-examination by James’ lawyer, Raj Basra, Wakabayashi said he didn’t explain in detail to James what he saw when he found Gladys’ body.
Elisa Wakabayashi, who was 12 years old at the time of the slaying, testified earlier that she found Jean Ann James in her mother’s bedroom two days before the slaying.
She said that she’d heard the phone ringing in the Shaughnessy home and went into the bedroom only to find James.
The accused killer wanted to know if it was her husband, Derek James, who was calling, she told a BC Supreme Court jury Thursday.
The phone stopped ringing and Wakabayashi went back to her room, she said.
Under cross-examination, Wakabayashi was asked if she noticed anything unusual about James.
She replied that other than finding James in the bedroom, “I didn’t find her behaviour odd, or unusual.”
Elisa said her father was “quite hysterical” when he discovered the body of her mother in the home.
“He was very, very upset and difficult to understand, but he told me what had happened.”
Asked by Crown counsel whether there was any animosity between her parents, she replied: “No, they didn’t fight a lot. They just had cultural differences that couldn’t be resolved.”
She explained that her father was Japanese and her mother Taiwanese.
Court heard that no charges were laid after the initial police investigation.
The case lay cold until 2007 when the file was reviewed by police and the undercover operation was launched, court heard.
The trial is expected to continue Friday and run for six weeks.
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