Randy Quaid, wife seeking refugee status in Canada
22/10/2010 8:57:24 PM
CTV.ca News Staff
Actor Randy Quaid and his wife Evi say they want to stay in Canada as refugees, after they were arrested in Vancouver on U.S. warrants that stem from vandalism charges in California.
The couple appeared at a Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board hearing Friday afternoon. A request was made to hold the hearing in private, CTV's Rob Brown reported, leading to speculation that the couple would apply for refugee status.
The Quaids say they are being persecuted south of the border.
Evi Quaid pleaded for a Canadian immigration adjudicator not to have them returned to the U.S. She said her husband's friends, including actors David Carradine and Heath Ledger, have been dying under suspicious circumstances and she's concerned the same fate will befall him.
"We feel our lives are in danger," she said.
She also has dangerously high blood pressure, she said, and Randy Quaid's mother is in hospital due to stress stemming from the couple's legal woes.
On Monday, authorities in California issued arrest warrants for Randy Quaid, 60, and his 47-year-old wife after they failed to appear in a Santa Barbara court for allegedly squatting in a home illegally.
