PRESS RELEASE
Convicted Murderer Katherine Quinn’s Second Trial
New Westminster Supreme Courthouse
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
16 year old Matthew Martins’ killer will be tried again for her part in the 2005 slaying of our young son. Sandra & David Toner have waited years to see justice for their child’s murder, but find themselves constantly re-victimized by a system that coddles the offenders.
Katherine Quinn was released on bail and is currently living just mere blocks from the Martins-Toner family home. Quinn again will be able to roam the courthouse freely during her murder trial, which has outraged the family.
The trial has been scheduled for 5 weeks in which the family must relive and listen to the details of how Matthew was killed at the hands of Robert Forslund & Katherine Quinn.
The Martins-Toner family, as well as many friends and supporters will be present at the courthouse to bear witness and ensure justice is served. We invite the media to continue to follow this case and the trial.
Please feel free to contact David or Sandra for comment
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Tears as Katherine Quinn gets bail pending retrial in SkyTrain murder
By Laura Stone, The ProvinceJuly 23, 2009
As the bail decision was read, Sandra Martins-Toner wept for the death of her child — and for Katherine Quinn’s newfound right to reunite with hers.
Quinn, 27, was granted bail Wednesday by the Vancouver Court of Appeals, pending her retrial for second-degree murder in the July 2005 beating death of 16-year-old Matthew Martins.
That means Quinn will move back in with her parents and three children, ages 12, 9 and 7, just blocks away from Martins-Toner’s south Vancouver home.
“My wife has a bad feeling that we’ll bump into [Quinn] in the grocery store,” said her husband, David Toner, as he clutched his wife’s shoulders.
Before the decision was handed down, Martins-Toner said she felt “confusion and fear, especially because we live so close” to the Quinns. Afterwards? Profound sadness and disappointment.
“Not only has the criminal justice system failed my beautiful child, they’ve failed all of you, all Canadian citizens,” said a sobbing Martins-Toner.
“There’s nothing there to protect you, so don’t ever have any sort of faith or hope that the justice system is there to defend your child, who you’ve lost to a vicious and callous crime.
“My child died in a way no wild animal should ever die. His death was long and prolonged and extremely painful, and they have failed us.”
Quinn’s mother Annabelle, who attended Wednesday with her husband Moe, said she was “extremely happy” with the decision to let her daughter come home.
Judge David Tysoe made his ruling after a morning of arguments from defence lawyer Jim Millar and Crown Counsel Mary Ainslie.
A publication ban forbids the reasons behind the judge’s decision from being reported.
Quinn — who was not in court — first applied for bail in May 2009, but the application was dismissed by B.C. Court of Appeal Justice Mary Newbury.
Quinn has been held in the Surrey pretrial centre since successfully appealing her second-degree murder charge.
On June 12, B.C. Court of Appeal Chief Justice Lance Finch found the trial judge had made an error in his instructions to the jury on whether Quinn had abetted the murder.
During the first trial in April 2007, Quinn and her boyfriend, Robert Forslund, were found guilty of second-degree murder by a B.C. Supreme Court jury.
The fatal assault came an hour after Martins encountered Quinn, then 23, and Forslund, then 28.
The trial heard that Quinn jumped Martins to steal his necklace.
Quinn received a superficial stab wound during the clash and Martins fled. Forslund caught up with Martins at a SkyTrain station.
The subsequent attack, captured by a surveillance video camera, had Forslund slamming Martins into a Plexiglass wall six times and kicking him 10 times.
Witnesses testified that Quinn commanded Forslund to kill the teen.
On Wednesday, Quinn’s parents were ordered to pay $5,000 as her sureties. Her bail conditions include having no contact with Forslund, who has not appealed his murder charge.
She cannot leave her home except for lawyer and medical appointments, cannot possess non-pharmaceutical drugs and must attend New Westminster Supreme Court on July 30.
A new trial date has not yet been set.
— with files from Keith Fraser
E-mail: lstone@theprovince.com
© Copyright (c) The Province
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Woman tried in SkyTrain killing gets bail before new trial
Last Updated: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 | 4:43 PM PT
In a decision that was later overturned, Katherine Quinn was convicted in 2007 of the second-degree murder of Matthew Martins and received an automatic life sentence. (CBC)A woman whose conviction in the 2005 death of a teenager at a Surrey, B.C., SkyTrain station was recently overturned will be released on bail while she awaits her new trial.
On Wednesday, the B.C. Court of Appeal approved the release of Katherine Quinn, now 27, originally found guilty of second-degree murder in the July 2005 killing of Matthew Martins, 16.
‘Not only has the criminal justice system failed my beautiful child, they have failed all of you, all Canadian citizens.’ —Sandra Martins-Toner
The court struck down Quinn’s conviction in June, saying the trial judge erred in his instructions to the jury, and a new trial was ordered.
Martins’s mother, Sandra Martins-Toner, said she was devastated Quinn was granted bail.
“Not only has the criminal justice system failed my beautiful child; they have failed all of you, all Canadian citizens. There is nothing there to protect you,” she said.
“Don’t ever have any sort of faith or hope that the justice system is there to defend your child who you’ve lost to a vicious and callous crime. My child died in a way no wild animal should ever die. His death was long and prolonged and extremely painful.”
Quinn and her boyfriend, Robert Forslund, now 30, were both found guilty of second-degree murder in 2007.
Sandra Martins-Toner says the justice system has failed her slain son. (CBC)During the trial, the prosecution alleged Quinn jumped Martins and tried to steal his necklace. While she didn’t take part in the actual beating of the victim, the trial heard that she gave Forslund the command to kill by saying, “If you love me, you’ll kill him.”
Both received automatic life sentences, with eligibility of parole in 10 years for Quinn and in 17 years for Forslund, who did not appeal his conviction.
A number of conditions have been placed on Quinn’s release. The mother of three will have to live with her parents, and she won’t be allowed to leave the house except for medical and court visits.
Quinn is scheduled to appear in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster on July 30 to determine the date of her new trial.
‘Not only has the criminal justice system failed my beautiful child, they have failed all of you, all Canadian citizens.’
—Sandra Martins-Toner
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Bail hearing adjourned for accused murderer
Speaking to the media outside the Appellate Courts
Surrey Now
Published: Friday, July 3, 2009
Accused murder Katherine Anne Quinn will spend at least another three weeks behind bars after a B.C. appeals court justice adjourned her bail hearing Friday.
Quinn, 27 and convicted two years ago of second-degree murder for her part in the killing of Matthew Martins, 16, was granted a new trial last month after successfully appealing her conviction. Quinn applied Friday for bail while awaiting her second trial, but Madame Justice Pamela Kirkpatrick decided she needed more information before making a decision and adjourned the hearing until July 22.
“My sense is that I’m being asked to make a ruling in the absence of all the evidence. I just don’t feel I have current, up-to-date information and I’m assuming it’s available,” Kirkpatrick told lawyers for Quinn and the prosecution. Kirkpatrick told the lawyers she wanted a report from prison officials about Quinn’s behaviour while in custody. She also asked for more information about conditions in the home of Quinn’s parents where she would live if her bail bid is successful.
Quinn’s lawyer objected strenuously to Kirkpatrick’s demand. She has no criminal record, Jim Millar argued, and spent nine months out on bail before and during her trial without incident. Those nine months were spent in her parents’ home. His arguments fell on deaf ears, however, as Kirkpatrick insisted the added information is needed.
Sandra Martins-Toner, the murdered boy’s mother, was somewhat encouraged by the outcome of Friday’s hearing. She and her husband, David Toner, were afraid Quinn would make bail that day. They live just 10 blocks from the Quinn home and want her kept in jail until her new trial date, yet to be set. As Kirkpatrick left the courtroom, Martins-Toner turned to her husband, smiled, put her arms around his neck and said, “Yes!”
“It’s a temporary reprieve, I guess,” David Toner said.
“We may be going through all this again on the 22nd, but in the meantime we have the satisfaction of knowing she’s where she belongs.” Matthew Martins was murdered in the early morning hours of July 2, 2005 outside Surrey Central SkyTrain station. Witnesses testified Quinn jumped him from behind and tried to steal his crucifix as he passed their Whalley house. They struggled and Matthew stabbed Quinn in the side, inflicting a superficial wound. He ran off with Quinn’s boyfriend, Robert Forslund then 28, in hot pursuit.
Forslund caught the diminutive youth at the station, beat him ferociously and cut his throat with a broken beer bottle. He is serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole for 17 years.
Quinn was also given life with no parole before serving 10 years. A jury heard Quinn told Forslund to “kill,” or “get,” the boy and gave him the bottle he used to slash Matthew’s throat. They found her guilty of aiding and abetting Forslund in the murder, but the verdict was overturned on appeal.
tcolley@thenownewspaper.com
© Surrey Now 2009
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Second Bail Hearing for Katherine Quinn
A second bail hearing has been set for Katherine Quinn, on Friday July 3, 2009. This date falls one day after the fourth year mark of Matthew Martins Death on July 2, 2005. Matthew’s family is outraged that again they are subjected to the continuous re-victimization by the Canadian Criminal Justice System. The thought of having to sit through a second trail is hard enough, but to know that Quinn could potentially be set free on bail awaiting her trial is a very unnerving moment this family prays will not happen.
The family hopes that the courts will see that this woman is a danger to those in society, and that there is a risk to releasing her on an bail. The family will once again pack the courtroom in memory of Matthew, and pray that bail will be denied a second time.
The hearing will be at the Vancouver Court of Appeals, at 9:30am, on Friday, July 3, 2009 in courtroom 70.
Sandra Martins-Toner
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New trial ordered in 2005 SkyTrain station killing
Surrey Now
Published: Friday, June 12, 2009
SURREY – “Oh, my God! No! No!”
It’s 9:45 Friday morning when the phone rings. This is it. The phone call Sandra Martins-Toner has been anxiously awaiting – dreading – for the past two months. On the other end of the line is Crown counsel Mary Ainslie. She begins to speak, giving Martins-Toner the news she fears most.
“Oh, Mattie, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” the inconsolable mother softly says to her murdered son as sobs rack her body. As husband David comforts her, Martins-Toner relays the news. The B.C. Court of Appeal has just ordered a new trial for one of two people convicted in 2007 for the murder of 16-year-old Matthew Martins outside a Surrey SkyTrain station nearly four years ago.
View Larger Image
Sandra Martins-Toner is comforted by her husband David Toner as she learns the B.C. Court of Appeal has ordered a new trial for Katherine Quinn, one of two people convicted of the brutal 2005 murder of their 16-year-old son, Matthew.
Brian Howell/The Now
Robert Forslund and Katherine Quinn were convicted of second-degree murder two years ago in B.C. Supreme Court. Both got the mandatory life sentence. Forslund, who did the actual killing, was ordered to serve at least 17 years before being able to apply for parole. Quinn, convicted for aiding and abetting her boyfriend in the murder, would serve a minimum 10 years.
Quinn appealed both her conviction and sentence in March. The court ruling came Friday. Witnesses at the scene that fateful night testified at trial that they heard Quinn tell Forslund to kill Matthew. They said Quinn jumped the diminutive boy, just five feet three inches tall and weighing 125 pounds, allegedly intent on stealing his gold chain. In the ensuing scuffle, Matthew stabbed Quinn, inflicting a slight wound in her side, then ran off.
One witness testified to hearing Quinn tell Forslund, “He stabbed me. If you love me, you’ll kill him.” A police cell plant also told the trial jury that Quinn admitted handing Forslund a beer bottle he used to slash the boy’s throat after administering a savage beating outside Surrey Central SkyTrain station. Quinn denied both charges during her trial.
On Friday, the appeals court ruled the trial judge had erred by not properly instructing the jury about the cell plant’s evidence and ordered a new trial. Now Martins-Toner and her family face the torment of having to sit through another trial, reliving the events of that terrible night.
“I just don’t want to have to listen to all that stuff again. I’ve heard enough. It consumes you,” she said of her son’s murder.
“It consumes every aspect of life.” Now she’s left to await the second trial and steel herself for what will come. It scares the hell out of her, but Sandra Martins-Toner will be there.
For Mattie.
tcolley@thenownewspaper.com
© Surrey Now 2009
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Appellate Courts Appeal Decision for Matthew Martins Killer
The family of Matthew Martins has just been advised that the Appellate Court Judges will render their decision in regards to Convicted Murderer Katherine Quinn’s Appeal.
The Decision will be rendered at” 9:30am, Friday, June 12, 2009, at the Vancouver Court of Appeals.
Sandra & David Toner will not be present at the Vancouver Court of Appeals as they have been advised by Crown Prosecutor, Mary Ainslie that the decision will be rendered behind closed doors.
The family is asking for the support of their members, and members of the community at this very difficult time should the decision not go their way. Sandra & David will be waiting at home for the Crowns phone call that morning, and have been told that the decision will be available online 1 hour after it has been rendered.
Matthew’s parents are hoping that the appeal will be dismissed, and that Quinn will remain in custody. They are trying to hope for the best, but preparing for the worst. Should the courts rule in her favor, the family will once again be subjected to sit through another lengthy trial, and the convicted killer will be able to apply for bail, as the presumption of innocence will be returned.
Our family is devastated by the thought of this murderer being released back into our community, and fear that she will kill or hurt someone again!
We are devastated and tired of watching the offenders of this country given so many chances, and the victims and families given nothing, no say in any of this. Mute observers of the Criminal Justice System.
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Bail denied to woman convicted in Martins murder
By Keith Fraser, The ProvinceMay 5, 2009
Family members of a teen who was brutally murdered near a Surrey SkyTrain station wept in relief Tuesday after a judge denied bail to a woman convicted in the slaying.
In April 2007 a B.C. Supreme Court jury found Robert Forslund and his girlfriend Katherine Quinn guilty of second-degree murder in the July 2005 fatal beating of 16-year-old Matthew Martins.
The teen was thrown into a Plexiglas wall, kicked, stomped in the head and had his throat cut with a beer bottle. The assault came about an hour after the youth encountered Quinn, then 23, and Forslund, then 28.
The trial heard that Quinn jumped Martins to steal his necklace. Quinn received a superficial stab wound during a clash with Martins, who fled.
Forslund caught up with Martins at the SkyTrain station. The subsequent attack was captured by a surveillance video camera and played during the five-week trial. It showed Forslund slamming Martins into a Plexiglas wall six times and kicking him 10 times. During the assault, Quinn encouraged Forslund to kill the teen.
Quinn, 26, a mother of three, launched an appeal that was heard in March, with a panel of the B.C. Court of Appeal reserving judgment.
Tuesday her lawyer appeared before the appeal court to ask that his client be released pending the outcome of the appeal. But the move was opposed by the Crown, and B.C. Court of Appeal Madam Justice Mary Newbury found there were insufficient grounds to release Quinn.
“The public’s confidence would be severely tried by an order of interim judicial release,” concluded the judge. “I therefore dismiss the application.”
The courtroom was packed with supporters of the victim, including his mother, Sandra Martins-Toner, and his stepfather, David Toner.
“Oh, thank God, thank God,” said the mom as she hugged family and friends outside court.
“It’s the best birthday present I could have ever gotten.”
kfraser@theprovince.com
© Copyright (c) The Province
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Quinn Bail Hearing
VANCOUVER – An appeal court judge has dismissed an application for bail of 26-year-old Katherine Quinn, who was convicted in 2007 of being involved in the beating death of Matthew Martins, 16.
“I’m not persuaded bail is appropriate at this time,” B.C. Court of Appeal Justice Mary Newbury concluded Tuesday after hearing submissions by the Crown and defence.
The judge noted that while Quinn had no previous criminal record, she had a history of having a “terrible temper” and had showed she is capable of violence.
The decision caused the murder victim’s mother, Sandra Martins-Toner, to burst into tears of relief in the courtroom.
“Thank God,” the mother said after she left court.
“We’re elated,” she told reporters while hugging her husband, David Toner.
“This is the best birthday present I could ask for,” said the mother, who turned 38 today.
“We were really glad the judge made the decision she did today or it would undermine the whole public confidence in the system,” David Toner added.
The couple’s son was murdered at a Surrey SkyTrain station in July 2005.
Since then, the parents have formed a justice reform group, Families Against Crime.
At trial, the Crown’s theory was that Quinn had issued a command to kill the teenage boy to her boyfriend, Robert Forslund, now 30.
A SkyTrain surveillance camera caught Forslund’s attack on the boy, who was repeatedly slammed into a Plexiglas wall and kicked almost a dozen times.
A jury convicted Forslund and Quinn of second-degree murder.
Quinn appealed her conviction last March and applied for bail while awaiting the appeal court decision.
The appeal judge pointed out that Quinn is no longer presumed innocent.
Quinn wanted to be released on bail to look after her ailing mother.
Crown counsel Mary Ainslie told the bail hearing Tuesday that Quinn and her family had been plagued with substance abuse problems.
nhall@vancouversun.com
Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
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By Dan Ferguson – Surrey North Delta Leader
Published: April 28, 2009 9:00 AM
Updated: April 28, 2009 5:26 PM
Matthew's Final Resting Place
The mother of murder victim Matthew Martins will celebrate her 38th birthday on May 5 by going to court to keep the convicted killer of her son in jail.
Sandra Martins-Toner said she can’t believe the Court of Appeal agreed to hear Katherine Quinn’s bail application.
The decision was announced Monday.
Quinn and her boyfriend were convicted of second-degree murder in the July 2005 Surrey beating death.
Quinn has asked the appeal court to overturn her conviction and wants to go free until a decision is made on her challenge.
dferguson@surreyleader.com
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April 27, 2009
UPDATE
Hello Everyone,
I have just received a call from the Criminal Court of Appeal to advise us that Katherine Quinn has been granted her request for a Bail Hearing. We are outraged that someone convicted of Murder could even be given a right to bail whilst awaiting the Appellate Court Judges decision on her conviction/sentencing appeal.
The date has now been changed to Tuesday, May 5, 2009, which falls on My Birthday. Just another reminder of how cruel our system really is.
Our family is asking that anyone wanting to be present to support Matthew and his family to attend.
The Time & Location:
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009 @ 9:30am
The Vancouver Court of Appeal
800 Smythe Street
Court Room 70
I hope that many of you will be able to attend. I can only pray that she will not be released into our community!
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The Convicted Murderer Seeking Bail
Ted Colley, Surrey Now
Published: Friday, April 24, 2009
Convicted killer Katherine Anne Quinn wants her freedom while she awaits a decision on her appeal.
In April 2007, a B.C. Supreme Court jury found Quinn guilty of second-degree murder for her part in the brutal killing of Matthew Martins, 16, in 2005. Quinn’s boyfriend and co-accused, Robert Forslund, who committed the vicious assault that took Martins’ life, was also convicted.
Forslund must serve 17 years before being allowed to apply for parole. Quinn, who was found guilty of encouraging the attack and handing Forslund the beer bottle he used to slash the victim’s throat, must serve 10 years.
Quinn appealed her conviction and sentence last month and now waits to see if she will succeed. She did not ask for bail then.
On Thursday, however, the victim’s family was notified that Quinn will seek bail at a hearing scheduled for May 4.
“(Jim) Millar (Quinn’s lawyer) threatened to apply for bail at the beginning of the appeal, then he recanted. Now this. We’re shocked,” said Sandra Martins-Toner, Matthew’s mother.
“They keep dragging us back into court. There’s no consideration for what we’re going through.”
Martins-Toner is particularly worried that Quinn might be released into her parents’ custody pending a decision on her appeal.
“That would mean she’d be just 10 blocks from our home and that’s unacceptable.”
© Surrey Now 2009
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Matthew’s Final Resting Place
The Martins-Toner family has just been notified by the Court of Appeals Crown Prosecutor that Katherine Quinn has put in an application for bail.
The bail hearing has been scheduled for Monday, May 4th, 2009, at the Vancouver Court of Appeal, Court Room 70.
We are still unsure of the time, but will be sure to post this as soon as we are given the information.
Our family is saddened and outraged at this latest development, and can only pray that the courts will see that this woman does not belong in our community, nor does she deserve to be released from prison whilst awaiting the Appellate Courts decision on her murder conviction appeal.
We are asking that on May 4th, 2009 should anyone like to be present for this bail hearing to show support for Matthew and his family, please keep posted for the exact times and location.
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Sandra Martins Toner
By Dan Ferguson – Surrey North Delta Leader
An upset Sandra Martins-Toner rose to her feet in the visitor’s gallery and interrupted the court proceedings.
“I can’t sit here any longer and listen to your lies,” she said.
It was late Tuesday afternoon at the B.C. Court of Appeal in Vancouver, the final minutes of a two-day hearing.
Her outburst was directed at lawyer James Millar, who was trying to convince a three-judge panel to overturn Katherine Anne Quinn’s conviction for the murder of Martins-Toner’s son, 16-year-old Matthew Martins.
In 2007, Quinn, a Surrey resident, was sentenced to 10 years in jail after she was found guilty of second-degree murder for urging her boyfriend Robert Allan Forslund to attack Martins.
Martins-Toner spoke out after Millar argued Matthew Martins had provoked the beating that caused his death.
“None of this was proven in court,” she said.
“Mr. Millar, you are incorrigible.”
She walked out of the courtroom and burst into tears.
The next day, Martins-Toner said she was “quite embarrassed” to have made a scene, but she had no apologies for what she said.
Her son, a slightly built 5’2” teen, was walking by a late-night Whalley house party on July 2, 2005 when there was a confrontation with Quinn, one of the partygoers.
There was a scuffle, and Quinn suffered what a doctor would later describe as a “superficial laceration” under her left armpit.
Martins fled, followed by Forslund, a brawny man well over six feet tall.
He caught up with Martins a few blocks away at the Surrey Central SkyTrain Station, where he administered a brutal six-minute beating recorded by SkyTrain security cameras.
During the Supreme Court trial, Crown prosecutor Wendy Dawson said Quinn set the events in motion that led to Martins’ death.
“She gave the command to kill,” Dawson told the court.
During the Appeal Court hearing, Quinn’s lawyer argued the judge in the case was wrong to permit testimony that Quinn urged her boyfriend on, even yelling “if you love me, you’ll kill him” during the attack.
Millar sugested that one witness may have misheard Quinn urging Forslund to “get in” the car as “get him.”
Millar also complained the judge should not have allowed evidence from an undercover officer who was planted in Quinn’s cell.
That officer said Quinn admitted to handing Forslund the beer bottle that was used in the attack.
The three-judge Appeal Court panel refused to allow the boyfriend to testify on Quinn’s behalf at the hearing.
Crown prosecutor Mary Ainslie argued the verdict was a proper one and should be upheld.
The Appeal Court is expected to take at least six weeks to render a decision.
Options include allowing the conviction to stand, ordering a new trial or an outright acquittal.
dferguson@surreyleader.com
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The latest news has been that the female, Katherine Quinn is appealing her conviction. This is the article that appeared in the Vancouver Province that day.
Parents of Murdered Teen Matthew Martins Reject Quinn Appeal
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Hello, I am originally from Surrey & now live in Toronto. My deepest heartfelt sympathies go out to you and your family. My cousin, Brenda Healey was brutally murdered over a year ago by a co-worker, we were lucky in the fact that this cowardly bastard killed himself, & that spared the family a court case. I was visiting Surrey recently and saw the news when that murderous monster got out pending a new trial? Our justice system is such a joke it makes me sick. My sister had the misfortune of being a neighbour to this animal, she said she drinks day and night & screams & yells at her 3 kids. I’d be interested to know if she lives with her children in her Mother’s house whilst she is out? In my opinion, she doesn’t deserve to even breathe the same air as you & your children, never mind being out in the free world!