Mississauga man guilty of manslaughter in high-profile Alberta case

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Published February 20, 2021 at 11:52 pm

bradley_barton_and_cindy_gladue

A Mississauga man has been found responsible for the death of a woman in a high-profile and drawn-out legal battle in Western Canada that earlier questioned how the legal system treats Indigenous people.

Yesterday (February 19), a jury found Bradley Barton, 52, guilty of manslaughter in the death of Cindy Gladue ten years ago. It took the jury nine hours to return the verdict.        

Barton was a long-distance truck driver from Mississauga who was accused of causing a fatal injury to Gladue, 36, after having sex with her in an Edmonton hotel in 2011.

The court heard that Barton had paid Gladue for sex but she suffered serious injuries. The Crown argued the woman was plied with large amounts of alcohol and had to endure rough sex. She was left in a bathtub where she bled to death.

Barton contended he was shocked when he awoke the next morning to find her dead.

The case had garnered a lot of attention in Alberta because a jury in 2015 found Barton not guilty of first-degree murder in Gladue’s death.

Subsequent outrage surrounding the woman’s Indigenous heritage and how racism was a factor in the original verdict prompted the Alberta Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court to order the new trial.

(Bradley Barton and Cindy Gladue are seen on surveillance camera leaving hotel room in this image that was introduced as a courtoom exhibit)

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