Governor Warns Canada of Becoming Murder Suspect ‘Haven’

Gov. George Deukmejian told Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in a letter released Monday that Canada could become “a haven” for murder suspects fleeing prosecution, because of its perceived reluctance to extradite fugitives facing the death penalty.

Deukmejian raised the issue in a letter praising the Canadian courts for finding, after lengthy legal maneuvering, that there is enough evidence to extradite mass murder suspect Charles Ng.

The governor, however, cited the case of a second murder suspect, Rudy Milan Blanusa, as evidence to support his belief that Canada’s slowness in returning criminal suspects to the United States for trial may encourage more fugitives from the death penalty to seek refuge in Canada, which has no capital punishment.

Blanusa, suspected of two murders near Modesto, was arrested by Canadian authorities Jan. 23 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Deukmejian said in the letter to Mulroney that Blanusa’s case is “an example of a death penalty fugitive fleeing the law for refuge in your country.”

Blanusa is a suspect in the murders of two brothers, whose bodies were found in a field south of Modesto three years ago. The Stanislaus County district attorney’s office has initiated extradition proceedings to return Blanusa to California.

“I caution that if Canada is reluctant to return fugitives to countries that impose the death penalty, the specter of Canada becoming a haven for death penalty fugitives may soon be realized,” Deukmejian said.

A 1971 extradition treaty between Canada and the United States allows Canada to refuse extradition unless the requesting state guarantees that the fugitive will not be executed if found guilty.

Ng is accused of kidnaping, torturing and murdering at least 11 people in Calaveras County.

Ng currently is serving a 4 1/2-year sentence in Canada for armed robbery and assault but will be extradited to California to stand trial in the Calaveras County killings after he completes his term.