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New development in cold case prosecution

Donald Feldhoff drops charge challenge
barrie courthouse
Donald Feldhoff appeared in Barrie court Friday where he abandoned an appeal of his first-degree-murder charge. Sue Sgambati/BarrieToday

Donald Feldhoff has told a Barrie court he will no longer pursue an appeal of his first-degree murder charge.

"We abandoned Donald Feldhoff's certiorari application and his return date to speak to his murder case is now April 1," Feldhoff's lawyer Gregory Leslie confirmed to BarrieToday.com

Certiorari is a type of common law writ where the applicant seeks judicial review of a judge's decision by a higher court.

Leslie said Feldhoff was appealing the 2014 court decision that committed Feldhoff to stand trial on first-degree murder instead of second-degree murder.

Feldhoff appeared in court Friday when the application for that judicial review was dropped.

The 59-year-old Barrie man was charged in July 2012 in connection with the 1978 murder of 26-year-old plumber Michael Traynor after Feldhoff walked into a Barrie police station. 

Traynor's hog-tied body was found north of Barrie and for years the killing was mistakenly thought to be possibly gang-related. 

Feldhoff is also charged with performing an indignity to a body and various explosives-related charges.

Donald’s father William, 78, was released from jail Thursday after pleading guilty to performing an indignity to a body after tying Traynor’s lifeless body with copper wire.

William was sentenced to 20 months in jail for the role he played and served nearly four years after Barrie Police found a huge cache of illegal firearms, pipe bombs and booby traps, along with an underground bunker, at his home at 20 Virgilwood Cres.

Leslie says a trial date of Oct. 3 still stands for Donald.


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Sue Sgambati

About the Author: Sue Sgambati

Sue has had a 30-year career in journalism working for print, radio and TV. She is a proud member of the Barrie community.
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