Another murder involving around high-payout life insurance could be the tip of the iceberg as more Canadians use it to shield heirs from tax.
A high-profile Canadian union negotiator was killed for his $200,000 life insurance policy and his pension, according to prosecutors.
In a dramatic opening address by assistant Crown attorney Robert Morrison, a jury heard Nancy Lane characterized as flat broke and consumed with passion for a man described as a “gigolo and con man," so she killed her husband, Art Lane, by administering a cocktail of lethal drugs. She did it for his $200,000 life insurance policy, for which she was the sole beneficiary, and his pension.
"She needed money to preserve her dreams," Morrison told a jury. "Art Lane needed to be dead."
A recent spate of homicide cases revolving around life insurance may challenge advisors’ ability to sell high-value policies even as a growing number of Canadians use that coverage as a part of estate planning. The concern is clients may be scared off of that strategy, fearing the high payouts may be too great a temptation for the nefarious.
Lane was a 61-year-old labour legend with numerous health issues, including three heart attacks, a perforated bowel and diabetes. Though he had ongoing health problems linked to diabetes and surgery to remove his colon, the Crown argued he had been getting better at the time of this death in 2009.
Lane, a registered nurse at the time, told investigators given her husband’s health his death was expected.
But once she learned there would be an autopsy she claimed it was suicide. "The story immediately changed," Morrison said.
Toxicologists found traces of drugs in her husband’s system that could have reduced his blood pressure and heart rate.
The trial is expected to continue until June.
In a dramatic opening address by assistant Crown attorney Robert Morrison, a jury heard Nancy Lane characterized as flat broke and consumed with passion for a man described as a “gigolo and con man," so she killed her husband, Art Lane, by administering a cocktail of lethal drugs. She did it for his $200,000 life insurance policy, for which she was the sole beneficiary, and his pension.
"She needed money to preserve her dreams," Morrison told a jury. "Art Lane needed to be dead."
A recent spate of homicide cases revolving around life insurance may challenge advisors’ ability to sell high-value policies even as a growing number of Canadians use that coverage as a part of estate planning. The concern is clients may be scared off of that strategy, fearing the high payouts may be too great a temptation for the nefarious.
Lane was a 61-year-old labour legend with numerous health issues, including three heart attacks, a perforated bowel and diabetes. Though he had ongoing health problems linked to diabetes and surgery to remove his colon, the Crown argued he had been getting better at the time of this death in 2009.
Lane, a registered nurse at the time, told investigators given her husband’s health his death was expected.
But once she learned there would be an autopsy she claimed it was suicide. "The story immediately changed," Morrison said.
Toxicologists found traces of drugs in her husband’s system that could have reduced his blood pressure and heart rate.
The trial is expected to continue until June.
