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Vitali Stefanski has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2024 death of his ex-wife, Tatjana Stefanski.
The unanimous decision was delivered in a Kamloops, B.C., courtroom Friday morning by a 12-person jury after closing arguments wrapped up on Thursday.
Tatjana’s body was found with numerous stab wounds off a rural forest service road near the village of Lumby, B.C., in April 2024.
Vitali, who had two children with his ex-wife, was arrested in the forest on April 14, 2024, the day after Tatjana was reported missing. He was later released on conditions.
It was not until more than a month later, on May 31, that he was charged with murder and taken into custody again.
The former couple’s son and daughter, now 11 and 18, testified against their father at trial, which was also attended by Tatjana’s partner, Jason Gaudreault, who now has custody of them.
Gaudreault said he was “too raw” and overwhelmed with emotion to speak with CBC News on Friday.
The sentence for second-degree murder is automatically life with no chance of parole for at least 10 years, but a judge can increase that to up to 25 years.
After the verdict, Justice Bradford Smith asked the jury members for their recommendations on parole eligibility.
He urged them to consider three factors in making their recommendation, including Stefanski’s character, the nature of the offence and the circumstances “surrounding the commission of the offence.”
“You are not required to make a recommendation, but if you do, your recommendation will be considered by me,” Smith told the jury.
The jury’s recommendations were not shared in court.
Vitali had legal representation for much of the trial but recently fired his lawyer and delivered his own closing arguments on Thursday.
During the trial, he asked the jury to find him not guilty, suggesting Tatjana’s injuries were self-inflicted.
The trial heard a bent and bloodied knife nearby had the DNA of both Tatjana and Vitali, while police testified that he emerged shoeless from the forest and confessed to the killing before gesturing in the direction of the body.
He denied confessing to police along the forest road.
“I never said that,” Vitali said on Thursday.
The accused had also denied dumping his ex-wife’s body, instead saying she “slipped” from his grasp by the road, and he wasn’t sure if she was dead at the time.
His applications for a mistrial, to switch to a judge-only trial, or for an adjournment to instruct new counsel were all dismissed.
He maintained his innocence throughout the trial and argued he had panicked and made poor choices but was “just a witness.”
The jury, however, sided with Crown prosecutors who told them that the only reasonable conclusion from the evidence was that Vitali stabbed his ex-wife to death, and his explanation of events was inconsistent with common sense.
The case is scheduled to return to court on July 13 at 2 p.m. to set a date for a sentencing hearing.
Smith advised Vitali to hire a lawyer to help him with the next steps. He agreed to return in two weeks and has chosen to appear by video.
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