OTTAWA COLD CASE: Accused killer on bail after posting $2M bond

Christopher Smith was fatally stabbed while walking home on Portage Bridge on April 12, 1996. His case finally has a suspect after 30 years. Photo by Tony Caldwell /POSTMEDIAArticle content

It took 28 years for advanced DNA testing to catch up with Lawrence Diehl in the 1996 killing of Christopher Smith, but just days for the accused killer to get bail.

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Diehl, now 73, was arrested and charged in December with second-degree murder in the April 12, 1996, killing of Christopher Smith, 22.

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Ottawa police said at the time it was a random fight on Portage Bridge after a night of hitting the bars in Hull.

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Diehl is accused of knifing Smith to death on the Ottawa side of the bridge just after 2 a.m. on a Friday.

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None of the allegations have been proven in court.

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The accused killer is now living in West Vancouver under strict bail conditions after his sureties posted a $2-million bond, which included a $500,000 cash deposit delivered to the clerk of the Superior Court in January.

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It’s not every day an accused killer gets bail at the Elgin Street courthouse. His Toronto lawyer successfully secured bail for Diehl days after his arrest in the cold case, sparing his client a long wait at the notorious Innes Road jail. (Homicide detectives Sgt. Mahad Hassan and Sgt. Chris O’Brien flew to Vancouver and escorted Diehl back to Ottawa to be formally charged in court.)

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As part of the accused killer’s bail, Diehl can’t go beyond 100 metres of his West Vancouver home except to see his legal team in Toronto or for court hearings in Ottawa. And, when that happens, he has to send a full itinerary — including airfare receipts — to one of the detectives on the case at least 48 hours in advance. Diehl has three sureties — two in Vancouver where he lives, and one in Toronto for trips to see his legal team. When he’s in Ottawa for court hearings, he has to be accompanied by a surety at all times.

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The $2,035,000 bond breakdown has one surety posting $2 million, the second $25,000, and the third $10,000.

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Diehl is also required to wear a GPS monitoring unit at his own expense ($500 a month). He’s also agreed to random compliance checks by the GPS monitoring centre. He also had to install a landline telephone and had to answer it whenever police checked in until his main surety deposited $500,000 to the Superior Court, which they did.

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Diehl is also banned from having any communication with the victim’s family and witnesses.

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Larry Diehl, now 73, was arrested and charged in December with second-degree murder in the April 12, 1996, killing of Christopher Smith, 22. Photo by CANADASOCCER.COMArticle content

On the day of the killing, the then unknown suspect — himself wounded and bleeding — made his way uphill for two kilometres and called 911 for an ambulance to help the victim. Police and the victim’s family at the time noted the caller appeared to have a conscience.

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The call was made from a payphone just west of the old Friday’s Roast Beef House, which is now Beckta, the Elgin Street dining and wine bar renowned for its legendary Canadian cuisine and top-shelf, gentle hospitality.