Mixed verdict in high-profile kidnapping trial – “Danny” Mason guilty; Ryan Rhaburn not guilty

Published by BBNTEAM at May 10, 2025

Posted: Saturday, May 10, 2025. 11:23 am CST.

By Aaron Humes: The trial of William “Danny” Mason and Ryan Rhaburn concluded somewhat dramatically on Friday with mixed verdicts on the charges of kidnapping Mennonite couple Lloyd and Rosie Friesen, stemming from an incident on May 31, 2016.

The jury found Mason guilty on two counts of kidnapping, albeit by a vote of 8 to 1, while unanimously acquitting Rhaburn on all counts. Additionally, Mason was found not guilty of blackmailing Lloyd Friesen, a charge related to alleged demands for $2,500 a week for protection against supposed threats.

High Court Justice Nigel Pilgrim, who presided over the case, concluded his summation around noon, instructing the nine-member jury, comprised of five men and four women, on the pertinent directives of the law. “You cannot act on your view of what the law is. I am the judge of the law and you are the sole judges of the facts,” he emphasized.

By 2:20 PM, after nearly two hours in deliberation, the jurors announced their verdicts, which brought relief to Rhaburn and his defense attorney, Senior Counsel Simeon Sampson, who praised the jury’s decision as a reflection of the insufficient evidence against his client. “The evidence was so poor that the jury had to acquit my client,” Sampson stated.

Conversely, attorney Peter Taylor, representing Mason, expressed his confusion over the verdict. He noted that the jury’s decision regarding Mason seemed contradictory, particularly in relation to the blackmail charge, which he argued should have been considered alongside the kidnapping indictment. “They felt the verdict was rather confusing because the blackmail should have been part and parcel of the alleged kidnapping,” Taylor remarked, indicating that they would reassess the judge’s directives to determine if an appeal would be pursued.

Mason contends that the entire incident was fabricated, and Taylor said they were disappointed because they had shown various inconsistencies in testimony: “There were inconsistencies between Lloyd Friesen and his wife, the alleged victims there were also manifesting inconsistencies in the evidence of the supporting, so-called supporting, witnesses. Of course, one of the witnesses was allegedly part of the kidnapping, and even his testimony contradicted that of the so-called victims in very material particulars. We, of course, made a no-case submission, but the evidence was so unreliable that no jury properly directed could have convicted on it.”

Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryl-Lynn Vidal, in a statement to Channel 7 News, emphasized that the jury acted properly in acquitting Mason of blackmail and Ryan Rhaburn if they had doubts about their involvement. Director Vidal highlighted that the jury’s verdict reflects a well-functioning criminal justice system, noting that a no-case submission for Rhaburn had been dismissed in both trials.

The sentencing for Mason has been scheduled for June 20. He is already serving a sentence of 35 years to life in prison on the unrelated murder of Llewelyn Lucas, given in 2019.

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