Accused killer elects to be tried in Court of Kings Bench by judge

By Lethbridge Herald on June 15, 2023.

Delon Shurtz
Lethbridge Herald

A 59-year-old Lethbridge man accused of stabbing his wife to death last December, two days after Christmas, has elected to be tried by a Court of King’s Bench judge.

David Albert Dragland, whose matter was recently in Lethbridge court of justice, also chose through his lawyer to be tried without a jury and without a preliminary hearing.

Dragland, who remains in custody at the Lethbridge Correctional Centre but attended court by CCTV, 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 First Aid 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.

Dragland is scheduled to be arraigned next month in CKB.

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