When Audra Lynne Symbalysty used the phrase “until death is part of us,” he was in a parking station in the Carstairs service station, Alta., An hour by car north of Calgary, trying to hire a hitman to kill her husband in the 18th wedding anniversary of the couple.
Audra Symbalisty wanted to “separate” with her husband organizing her death, but had no idea that she had hired an undercover police officer, not a rental man.
On Monday, Symbalisty declared himself guilty of advising an undercover police officer who committed the murder of his spouse, Don Symbalisty.
The 60 -year -old grandmother sat in the prisoner’s box in a sweat suit of the navy blue jail, with her blond hair and grass stacked on her head.
‘What you have done to your family’
The King’s Bench court judge, Michele Hollins, accepted a joint submission for a five -year prison sentence. With credit for the time it has already served, Symbalisty has about three and a half years in his sentence.
When delivering the prayer, Hollins went to Symbalisty directly.
“Part of his healing, I hope, he will face face to face with what his family has done,” said the judge.
The details of the crime were read aloud in the court of a declaration of agreed facts (ASF) prepared by prosecutors Elaine NG and Ryan Ziegler and defense lawyer Allan Fay.
Judge Hollins heard that in 2021, Don Symbalisty bought a life insurance policy that would have paid his wife almost $ 500,000 in case of his death.
Known goes to RCMP
Don was a long distance truck driver who often drove between Canada and the United States for work.
At the beginning of 2024, the couple’s relationship had deteriorated and “the two were unhealthy and verbally abusive to each other,” according to the ASF.
For a period of six weeks in early 2024, Audra Symbalisty had several conversations about her husband with an acquaintance who took her concerns to Didsbury RCMP on February 12, 2024.
His statement to the Police led to a two and a half weeks investigation that involved an undercover police officer (UCO) who passed through a hired murderer who was presented to Audra by text message.
The two made a plan to meet in Carstairs on February 24, 2024.
Facebook anniversary publication
That day was the 18th wedding anniversary of Symbalisty and Audra published on Facebook: “18 years. Very difficult to believe. Happy anniversary Hon. I can’t wait for our beautiful dinner. Whoot Whoot.”
Meanwhile, she was in a parking station parking, offering an undercover officer $ 5,000 to kill her husband.
During the meeting, Symbalisty told the UCO that her husband was “a problem” to whom she wanted to “disappear.”
“She didn’t want ‘nothing temporary’,” anything from the hospital “or ‘Any broken leg’, wanted it to be ‘simply permanent'”, read in the ASF.
Symbalisty confirmed that he wanted to hire a “hired killer.”
“I have seen many different films, such as where you hire people as a hitman and different things like that,” he told the UCO.
He said he did not want the murder to occur in the family home and told UCO that he did not want him to share too many details of the planned murder.
“The first person who will be questioned and the shit is me,” he told the officer. “I don’t want to know anything about anything. Everything will be a surprise.”
‘The Murder Machine’
In the course of the conversation, Symbalysty gave the name of her husband, occupation and described her truck travel routes to help facilitate murder.
The two met again the next day, this time in the parking lot of the Canadian tires of the old. Symbalisty delivered more than $ 1,000 in cash, an agreed deposit of 20 percent, as well as photos of her husband and her truck, “so that he knew with certainty who to kill,” according to the ASF.
He told the UCO that he wanted Don’s death to seem accidental or self -inflicted and wanted the murder to become a murder in the case of cold.
The UCO told Symbalisty that once he received the money for the contract that killed “the murder machine” and “would put a bullet” on the victim’s head or “would run over him.”
Symbalisty replied: “I have it.”
He gave him several opportunities to retire, but every time Symbalisty confirmed that he wanted the plan to carry out.
‘A fractured marriage’
Three days later, Symbalisty was arrested and accused by RCMP and has been in custody since his arrest.
Before his arrest, Audra Symbalisty was a hairdresser in Carstairs and also sold homeopathic products.
The former partner had a mixed family of adult children.
While the crown cannot prove the exact reason, Fay said that after Symbalisty’s 39 -year -old daughter died after a fight with addictions, “a fractured marriage fractured further.”
Audra built a mantle monument for her daughter that “caused unpleasant comments from Mr. Symbalisty,” Fay told the court.
“She appreciates that what he did was incorrect in her nucleus … and unforgivable,” Fay said. “She accepts that she must bear the consequences of that.”
‘My brain kidnapped me’
When he was given the opportunity to address the court, Symbalisty said he had been “suffering in my own silence” and “I did something that I never thought I would do.”
“It was as if my brain kidnapped me,” he said. “I wish I could go back in time.”
The two daughters of Symbalisty wrote statements of impact of victims that detailed their devastation.
Daughter Shayna Anisman described her world “colliding” and her family “disintegrating.”
Pregnant at the time of her mother’s arrest, Anisman said “he threw our entire world and why.”
‘Goodbye, Audra’
Daughter Katrina Lisoway listed some of the questions that remained to reflect.
“Did you really think you were so intelligent that you would overcome the system and go out with yours?” She asked her mother.
“How and why a mother, a grandmother, be so selfish and be so willing to sacrifice everything?”
Don Symbalisty was not in court for the plea of his former spouse, but wrote a statement that was read aloud by the Prosecutor’s Office.
Don wrote that while he had “mixed emotions” and felt “betrayed at the highest level,” he also said he forgives Audra.
“I realized in these circumstances, I don’t know what Audra is capable,” Don wrote.
“It’s finished. Goodbye, Audra.”
