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Canada  

Confession 'was a lie'

A Central Alberta man accused of killing his parents and sister is sticking to his story that his friend pulled the trigger and that he failed to go to police out of fear that he would be next.

Jason Klaus was testifying under cross-examination Thursday in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench.

He and Joshua Frank each face three counts of first-degree murder in the December 2013 deaths of Gordon, Sandra and Monica Klaus.

Earlier in the trial, Klaus told court that he and Frank planned to steal a truck from his father as part of an insurance fraud scheme.

He said the plan went awry when Frank entered the family home to steal a prized deer head and shot his family members in the head before lighting the house on fire and shooting the family dog.

Klaus said he was waiting in his vehicle at the end of the lane while all of this took place.

On Aug. 16, 2014, Klaus told police that he helped plan the murders.

On Thursday he testified he didn't help plan the shootings.

"What I told police was a lie," Klaus testified Thursday.

Klaus testified he was afraid of Frank after he threatened to kill him if he told police the truth.



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