British Columbia man convicted of second-degree murder

A British Columbia man has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2024 killing of his ex-wife, rejecting his claim that she stabbed herself in a death he described as "like a suicide." A jury in B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops returned a unanimous verdict on Friday, June 26, convicting Vitali Stefanski.

Stefanski faces a mandatory life sentence. The period before he is eligible for parole, which must be a minimum of 10 years, will be determined at a later date. Following the verdict, Justice Bradford Smith asked the jury for its recommendations on parole eligibility.

The conviction follows a trial that heard Tatjana Stefanski’s body was found with numerous stab wounds off a forest service road near the village of Lumby in April 2024. A bent and bloodied knife found nearby contained DNA from both Tatjana and Vitali Stefanski.

During the trial, Crown prosecutor Laura Drake argued the only reasonable conclusion from the evidence was that Stefanski stabbed his ex-wife to death, stating his account was inconsistent with common sense and the physical evidence. The court heard Tatjana Stefanski was stabbed seven times in the chest, suffering injuries to her heart and lungs. A...