The U.S. network television show Dateline NBC has been granted access to video recorded evidence used to convict Denis Florian Ratte of second-degree murder in the 1997 death of his wife, Wendy Ann Twiss Ratte.
The show's application to secure the evidence had been delayed for a few months over a concern that should the conditions under which it can be broadcast be violated, the Crown would not be able to pursue charges against the U.S.-based network.
However, the court received assurance that NBC has a Canadian identity that agrees to comply with any orders that accompany granting access and B.C. Supreme Court Justice Glen Parrett allowed the application Tuesday.
Of particular concern is footage that could reveal the identity of RCMP officers involved in a "Mr. Big" sting used to coax a confession from Ratte. In the sting, police officers posed as high-level criminals to gain Ratte's trust.
On Aug. 18, 1997, Wendy Ratte, 44 at the time, was reported missing and the family's van was found parked at a supermarket, where Value Village is now.
The case had languished for years but in 2008, Denis Ratte became the subject of the elaborate undercover operation. Their daughter, Anna Sieppert, has been credited with keeping the case in the RCMP's eyes in the interim.
A jury found Ratte guilty in November 2010, some 13 years after the incident, and sentenced him to 15 years in prison before eligibility for parole. The verdict was upheld by the B.C. Appeals Court in August. Ratte is now seeking leave to appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Canada.
During the trial, the jury watched a video recorded with a concealed camera, where Ratte took the officers to the scene of the shooting, in the backyard of the family's home, and then to a wooded area east of the city where he told them he dumped her body, which has never been found.
In February, CBC's The Fifth Estate aired an episode on the same case.
A date for Dateline NBC's airing of their story on the case has not yet been released.
"We continue working the story, gathering all facts so we can construct an accurate and balanced documentary on the case," producer Izhar Harpaz said Tuesday.
