Peter Demeter - Murder Trials

Murder Trials

Demeter was charged with the murder of his wife and tried. In what was the longest trial in Canadian history, on 6 December 1974, he was convicted of arranging for the murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The prosecution's case was aided by tapes recorded of conversations by Demeter after his wife's murder. During the trial, it was revealed that the husband and wife may each have been plotting to murder the other to collect a $1 million insurance policy.

On 6 December 1974, the Canadian government requested extradition from Hungary of Imre Olejnyik, who was charged with the physical murder of Christine Demeter. He was never found.

In 1983 while living at a convicts' halfway house, Demeter was charged with planning a kidnapping and murder of the son of his third cousin, who had been taking care of his financial affairs and his daughter. He intended to have the son kidnapped to gain money and then have him killed. Demeter was convicted in July 1985 while in prison and given a second life sentence.

In May 2006 a judge ordered Demeter to provide a DNA sample to the country's DNA data bank, as law enforcement was collecting data from prisoners. (Demeter had refused to allow a sample to be taken.)

While in prison, Demeter has suffered a stroke and a heart attack. He has had chemotherapy administered in relation to three diagnoses of cancer. Demeter is serving his term at the medium-security Bath Institute in Ontario. In a CBC interview on 30 May 2006, he said conclusively that he will be in prison for the rest of his life.