Man accused of killing partner refuses counsel, plans guilty plea

By COLLIN GALLANT on January 7, 2022.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant

A man accused of killing his common-law wife in October has refused legal council and indicated to Medicine Hat Provincial Court on Thursday that he intends to plead guilty to the charge of second-degree murder.

Timothy Ray Faulkner, 56, was arrested on Oct. 25 after the body of Corrine Schneider was discovered at the couple’s Third Street apartment.

When the matter appeared at Provincial Court, Faulkner waived his right to a preliminary hearing and the case was forwarded to Court of Queen’s Bench to be heard by judge alone without a jury.

Faulkner appeared via close-circuit TV from the Medicine Hat Remand Centre, only spoke to confirm the plan laid out by lawyer Bradley Bellmore, acting as duty counsel.

Bellmore told the court he had strongly advised Faulkner to seek out further legal advice before proceeding.

Crown prosecutor Jase Cowan said the case could proceed, but not at the provincial court level.

“If Mr. Faulkner wants to waive his (right to a) preliminary hearing, he can do that today and the court can order him to the court of Queen’s Bench for the next arraignment date,” said Cowan.

“He can make his decision about a plea at that point, because that’s the only court that can receive the plea (on the serious charge).”

The judge ordered Faulkner be arraigned on the charge in Medicine Hat Court of Queen’s Bench on Feb. 18.

Police were called to the apartment that Faulkner and Schneider shared for three years on the night of Oct. 25.

At that time investigators told the News they had very limited contact or knowledge of the couple aside from a report of domestic violence from several years earlier.

Faulkner was otherwise not known by police.

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