UNDERCOVER

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PROVINCE - OCTOBER 24th 2011 - KEITH FRASER
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Accused murderer told undercover cop she was a suspect, but denied involvement, court hears

In the midst of an undercover police operation, accused killer Jean Ann James admitted she was a suspect in the murder of her friend, but denied any involvement, a jury heard on Monday.

James, 72, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the June 1992 slaying of Gladys Wakabayashi, 41.

The Crown’s theory is that James slit her friend’s throat after she learned that she was having an affair with her husband Derek.

The jury has been told that at the end of the lengthy undercover operation launched in 2008, James confessed to the grisly slaying in the Shaughnessy home of Wakabayashi, the daughter of a Taiwanese billionaire.

But before the confession, in the middle of the year-long operation, James told an undercover operator that a friend of hers, an East Indian woman, had told police she was the killer, court heard.

“She became a suspect because the East Indian woman had alerted police,” said the undercover operator who cannot be identified because of a publication ban.

“She denied any involvement. She said the only reason she was a suspect at that time was because she was friends with the deceased.”

Referring to her notes, the undercover cop said that in describing the situation, James was “very angry” with the East Indian woman.

“I told her I hoped the East Indian woman got what she deserved. She said she didn’t know, she hadn’t seen her in a long time but that she thought that she was probably dead.

“She assured me that the issue was dead because it had happened 15 years ago . . . She believed the person responsible must have been caught.”

The undercover cop described an elaborate operation targeting James that involved dozens of high-society scenarios aimed at drawing the accused into what appeared to be criminal activity.

The first scenario had the cop posing as the very wealthy, nouveau-riche wife of a property developer.

She said she met James after both women were contest winners and were picked up in a limousine and taken to Spa Utopia in downtown Vancouver, where they spent the day getting their nails, feet and facials done as well as a massage.

James was “very interested” in wine and invited her to a wine-tasting at the Rosedale restaurant on Robson the following week, she said.

“She was very friendly to me, as was her husband, Derek.”

The cop said she later phoned James and asked her to go shopping and show her around.

James told her that her son was an aspiring actor and had met actors Billy Bob Thornton and Nicole Kidman, she said.

The scenarios took the two women to the Gourmet Warehouse to buy special sauces and ingredients and to Granville Island to shop and look for special pastries.

The undercover cop said that in March 2008, a scenario took the two women to the Sheraton Wall Centre in Vancouver, where the undercover cop parked illegally and then took a package into the hotel, she said.

The cop asked James to shoo away anybody who came near the car while she was in the hotel, she said.

Later scenarios had the cop displaying three six-inch bands of $20 bills in front of James, said the officer.

“She seemed excited. It was exciting to see that amount of money.”

Following a lunch at the Fish House restaurant in Stanley Park, James was instructed to watch the cop meet another person, for which James was paid $300, she said.

One scenario took them to the exclusive Shaughnessy Golf Club for a meeting of James’ wine club, with 60 to 70 wealthy people in attendance.

“I met lots of people and she was very proud to introduce us around,” said the cop.

At one point James said she had hailed from royalty and deserved to have a nice lifestyle.

“She wanted to live in the south of France and also to have a house in Shaughnessy.”

The criminal scenarios included the apparent trafficking in stolen credit cards and the laundering of money at several casinos, including the River Rock Casino in Richmond, said the undercover cop.

The trial continues.