Accused in recent homicide still without legal representation

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on January 11, 2023.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A 59-year-old Lethbridge man accused of stabbing his wife to death late last month hadn’t yet hired a lawyer by the time he made his second appearance in Lethbridge provincial court Tuesday.

The accused, David Albert Dragland, was represented by a Lethbridge lawyer during Tuesday’s brief hearing, but the lawyer appeared only as agent and said he was simply waiting to be retained before going on the record.

Dragland, who remains in custody at the Lethbridge Correctional Centre and was not required to attend court Tuesday, is charged with one count of first-degree murder. The offence carries a mandatory sentence of imprisonment for life, with parole eligibility after 25 years.

At about 11 p.m. on Dec. 27 police responded to a disturbance involving a man and woman at a home in the 2500 block of 13 Avenue North. When police arrived a man walked out of the home and was arrested without incident.

Police found a critically injured woman inside the home and began life-saving procedures until EMS arrived and took over. The 59-year-old victim, identified as Shelley Dragland, sustained multiple stab wounds and died at the scene.

Police determined the couple had been together in the home when the man grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed the victim several times.

During a news conference following Dragland’s arrest, police said they were still investigating the motivation behind the attack.

Dragland’s is the second homicide case of 2022. Lethbridge’s only other homicide last year occurred on May 5 when 44-year-old Amber Bahadur Khadka died after he was knocked down and hit his head on the ground during a dispute with another man.

Sheldon Nicholas LePage, 45, of Lethbridge is charged with manslaughter in that case.

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