Girl's killer pleads guilty

HINTON — Ross Edward Kleman admitted Monday that he attacked 14-year-old Emily Stauffer on a sunny footpath outside Edson, that he choked her, slashed her throat, then left her for dead.

In a Hinton courtroom Monday, the shamefaced 44-year-old former preacher trembled as he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, then he sat, hunched and frail, and hung his head.

Crown prosecutor Michelle Doyle for the first time revealed how the devout pastor's daughter met her death on Sept. 27, 2008.

"Mr. Kleman, a stranger to Emily, attacked her, struggled with her, choked her and slashed her throat," Doyle said. Police caught him because he left his DNA at the scene.

Kleman will automatically be sentenced to life in prison with no chance at parole for at least 10 years. Doyle asked the court to conduct a psychological assessment before the sentencing hearing, scheduled for June 9.

Stauffer's parents and her three siblings were not in court Monday and chose not to speak publicly. They will be invited to present victim impact statements at Kleman's sentencing hearing in June. Kleman will also have the opportunity to speak.

The brutal daytime killing horrified residents of Edson, a small, booming oil town of 8,000 people, about 200 kilometres west of Edmonton.

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon when Emily set out on a solitary walk along a well-travelled, winding footpath in the town's north-side forest.

Emily was a pious, home-schooled girl who let her wavy, flaxen hair grow long and loved music, horses and cats. She liked to ramble through the woods taking pictures, some of which she posted on her Internet blog. She sang on the worship team at the Edson Baptist Church, where her father is pastor, and every Monday afternoon she sat down to study the Bible with him.

Those who knew her called her a sweetheart, and said her middle name, Joy, was a perfect fit.

No one but Kleman knows why he attacked her that day, how he approached her, or how long she fought with him.

But just before 5 p.m., two boys riding their bikes on the dirt trail came upon the pair struggling on the path, and they raced to a nearby house to call 911.

Paramedics and RCMP responded, but Kleman had fled. Emily was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

After lengthy manhunt, Kleman was arrested on Dec. 4 and charged with first-degree murder.

The town was shocked. Kleman was a longtime Edson resident and a deeply religious man, a fan of gospel music who named the Bible as his favourite book. For years he had volunteered at the Bread of Life Mission in Edson and preached to oil workers in northern Alberta.

At the time of his arrest, he was married and working as an equipment operator for the town's public works office. His family was not in court Monday.

Edson Mayor Greg Pasychny said Monday the guilty plea is helping the community heal.

"There's a real sense of relief again in the community; people are really glad to see a close to it," he said. "This just shows the RCMP did a fantastic job and we now know they have the right person."

Kleman also pleaded guilty Monday to sexually touching a five-year-old girl at his wife's home-care between April and October 2008.

In 2002, Kleman found the body of his ex-wife's aunt near Edson. Nobody has been arrested in connection with that death.

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