Edmonton woman found not guilty of murdering her 85-year-old mom

The courtroom erupted in applause — while others filed out, muttering in frustration — after an Edmonton woman was found not guilty of murdering her octogenarian mother.

Court of King’s Bench Justice Wayne Renke on Friday acquitted Vini Buecken of the second-degree murder of 85-year-old Dagmar Petersen, who was bludgeoned to death in her Riverbend home March 5, 2022. 

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While conceding aspects of Buecken’s behaviour were “suspicious,” Renke found the Crown had not proven her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt — in part because of lingering questions about the presence of male DNA near Petersen’s bloodied body.

Renke asked Buecken, 67, to stand as her pronounced her not guilty, to applause from some of the observers in the court gallery.

“You’re free to go,” he concluded.

The verdict leaves the identity of Petersen’s killer in doubt. Buecken’s defence team earlier suggested someone else might be responsible, but did not offer an alternative suspect.

Spilt coffee and phone calls

Buecken — a lifelong employee of the family cleaning business, Valo Maintenance — told police she found her mom’s body after letting herself into Petersen’s home at 4147 Ramsay Crescent March 5, 2022.

She encountered a bloody crime scene, with Petersen’s body lying between the foyer and the kitchen. The violence to Petersen’s body suggests whoever killed her did so in a “rage,” Renke said. 

An autopsy determined Petersen died of 10 to 20 blows to the back of the head from a blunt object. While the murder weapon was never found, the Crown suggested the base of a bottle of Pilsner beer was used, though only fragments of the bottle were ever located.

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There were no signs of forced entry to the home, nor evidence of robbery. Fresh snow around the property lay undistributed, suggesting no one snuck in through a door or window.

Buecken was initially interviewed by police and denied involvement in her mom’s death. She was identified as a suspect and arrested that November, after her DNA — commingled with Petersen’s — was located on a scrap of tissue in the main floor bathroom.

The Crown’s case, presented by prosecutors Dawn MacDonald and Caroline Berner, was largely circumstantial. In addition to the DNA, they pointed to video showing Buecken’s car driving around near her mother’s home at the time of the killing, for which Buecken was unable to offer a convincing explanation. 

They argued Buecken visited her mother’s home the day before she reported finding the body, and attacked her during an argument, likely about money. She then — in the Crown’s theory — staged the crime scene, dropping a tray of McDonald’s coffee in faux shock and making a series of “theatrical” phone calls intended to throw off suspicion.

Defence lawyers Michael Sparks and Stephen Brophy presented an alternate theory, which hinged heavily on the presence of unidentified male DNA near the victim’s body.

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The DNA was found in a bloody handprint on the kitchen door frame, about 18 inches below the door handle.

Sparks said there is a “vacuum” of evidence about the male DNA because of choices made by investigators. The Crown offered no explanation for the presence of male DNA at a scene where both victim and accused are female, he said.

While the defence presented no theory as to who the male DNA belonged to, the defence had no obligation to prove the identity of the other possible suspect.

Reasonable doubts

When it came to motive, Renke was not convinced by the Crown’s evidence.

He put little weight on claims that Buecken staged the crime scene, either by spilling the coffee, or making the phone calls before and after reporting her mom’s death.

Buecken had described her mom as “stubborn” and “bossy,” but nothing that would suggest any real “animus” that might motivate murder, the judge said.

Renke also put little stock in the “peculiar” comments Buecken made about her mother’s death, describing it as a loss of a “source of information about family history” who she relied on for “business things.”

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The Crown’s argument that the crime was financially motivated was also too weak to hang a conviction, Renke said. While there had been changes to her mother’s will, giving Buecken’s brother a larger stake in the family business, this was not convincing proof of motive. Nor was the fact Buecken was in debt — something countless Canadians bear without resorting to murder, Renke said.

While the Crown’s motive theories failed to move the court, Renke did find there was “powerful evidence of opportunity.” He noted surveillance footage captured Buecken’s vehicle passing a house near the crime scene five times around the time of the murder.

“A reasonable person hearing about Ms. Buecken driving back and forth by her mother’s house would conclude her presence there wasn’t a coincidence,” he said. “What could be the odds she drove back and forth by her mother’s house while her mother was killed, while not being the killer?”

However, he concluded gaps in the surveillance record make it hard to prove Buecken actually stopped at her mother’s house the day before she reported finding the body. Buecken’s explanation for her presence in the area made little sense, Renke said, but he concluded it could have been “aimless back and forth driving” which “may not have been inculpatory.”

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He noted other vehicles caught on camera exhibited similar driving patterns, but police did not take steps to identify those motorists after Buecken’s DNA was found in the bathroom. 

“Their driving was just as suspicious as Ms. Buecken’s,” Renke said.

As for Buecken’s DNA, Renke noted she had been in the room frequently when visiting her mother’s home, and that there is no evidence how it was deposited there. It was possible the DNA was deposited while someone else cleaned up the crime scene, he said.

There was also no evidence of blood in Buecken’s car, nor evidence blood had been cleaned up. Renke noted the car itself was dirty, with mouldy grapes and a package of croissants that expired the previous year found inside.

Buecken and her lawyers declined to comment. She was visibly emotional speaking with supporters after the ruling.

Other observers quietly voiced frustration with Renke’s decision as they left the courtroom.

jwakefield@postmedia.com

x.com/jonnywakefield 

@jonnywakefield.bsky.social

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