US court docs outline allegations that Saskatchewan woman staged her disappearance

Prosecutors representing the United States in court against Dawn Walker want the Saskatoon woman detained until she stands trial on charges of using a false identity to enter their country.

Walker, 48, was the subject of an extensive search after she disappeared with her son about two weeks ago. She was found and arrested in Oregon on Friday and has been detained in the U.S. since.

On Monday, Saskatoon police said Walker was facing charges of parental abduction and public mischief in Canada, along with U.S. charges related to using false documents to cross the border.

Police said another legal guardian of Walker’s son, 7, who is not being named now that he has been found, brought him home to Saskatoon on Sunday.

U.S. prosecutors filed a court document in Oregon on Monday arguing that Walker is a “flight risk and should be detained pending trial and her eventual extradition to Canada.”

The prosecutors allege that Walker “kidnapped her child,” faked her and her son’s deaths, then fled to the U.S. as part of an “elaborate and well thought out plan.”

“The defendant went to extreme efforts to steal identities for her and her son that allowed them to unlawfully enter the United States and hide; she hid and funnelled assets to accounts to fund her flight from the law,” the document says.

A second document — an affidavit from an agent from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — alleges Walker stole the identities of a friend and that friend’s son to open up a bank account, buy a vehicle and cross the border.

Walker’s U.S. public defender emphasized that the allegations are unproven.

“In the U.S. criminal justice system, a person is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This is an important principle that protects the liberty of all people in the United States,” Lisa Hay wrote. “Ms. Walker is entitled to rely on these constitutional protections.”

Walker’s friends and family have urged the public to wait to hear Walker’s rationale for what happened and why before jumping to conclusions.

An online fundraiser to help Walker access legal support has also raised thousands of dollars.

FULL ARTICLE: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/u-s-court-documents-argue-for-detainment-dawn-walker-1.6545066