Canadian court rules that the Bitcoin wallet involved in the case be returned to the murderer's family.

Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice John Bodurtha ordered a laptop holding a Bitcoin wallet returned to the family of William Sandeson, who is serving life for the 2015 murder of Dalhousie University student Taylor Samson. Prosecutors failed to show the bitcoin was tied to the murder, drug dealing, or proceeds of crime, so the court found no basis to keep holding the wallet. The wallet's value is disputed: Sandeson claims it is worth about C$8,000–10,000, while counsel for Samson's family estimated it could exceed C$200,000. The court separately ruled that C$5,000 in cash found in Sandeson's apartment after the killing was crime-related property and will not be returned. The ruling matters as a rare Canadian court decision separating crypto assets from a criminal case when the prosecution cannot trace their origin, and the next thing to watch is whether Samson's family challenges the wallet's valuation or the return.