Warning: Story contains graphic details that some may find disturbing.
Bradley Barton’s appeal of murder of his manslaughter conviction was dismissed by the Alberta Court of Appeal on Jan. 29. A jury found Barton guilty in 2021 of killing Cindy Gladue.
According to court documents, Barton killed Gladue, a mother of three, on June 22, 2011. Her body was found in a hotel room bathtub after she bled to death from a 11-centimetre wound running almost the entire length of her vaginal wall.
The Ontario man, who worked as a truck driver and mover, didn’t deny killing Gladue but said she died from consensual sex.
He appealed his conviction arguing that certain evidence should not have been admitted at trial.
“We find no reviewable errors in the trial judge’s rulings on the admissibility of evidence,” said Justice Jolaine Antonio in concurrence with Justice Kevin Feehan and Justice Anne Kirker.
Court heard that on June 13, 2011, while travelling for work, he used his laptop computer to make internet searches and visit websites related to vaginal ripping, tearing, and stretching.
He testified he was searching for pornography, including images of large objects being inserted into vaginas.
On June 20, 2011, while in Edmonton for a residential move, Barton met Gladue and paid her for sex. According to Barton, that night he inserted his hand into her vagina up to his last row of knuckles. He moved his hand into and out of her vagina for between five and 10 minutes.
He paid her for sex again the next evening at his hotel room. he again inserted his hand into her vagina, but this time he went further to a depth of one to two centimetres past his last row of knuckles, pushed harder, and continued for longer than the night before. Gladue sustained an 11-centimetre tear through almost the entire length of her vaginal wall.
According to Barton, he found Gladue lying unresponsive in his bathtub the next morning. Gladue’s blood was smeared all over her body, the tub, and the tiled walls surrounding the tub. An expert testified it is common for a person with severe blood loss to move wildly and thrash around as they lose oxygen and approach unconsciousness. The footprints and blood smears on the walls and tub were consistent with that expectation.
Barton didn’t call for help. He got dressed, checked out of his hotel room, got a coffee, and met with a co-worker in the parking lot. After that meeting, he went back into the hotel, obtained a new room key on a pretense, and re-entered his room. He then called 911.
In 2015, Barton was tried for the first-degree murder of Gladue. He was acquitted. The Court of Appeal allowed the Crown to appeal and ordered a new trial.
After the second trial, he was convicted of manslaughter.
He is half way through his 12.- year prison sentence.
