The NWT Court of Appeal has denied Denecho KingSA国际影视传媒檚 appeal of his 2014 second-degree murder and aggravated assault charges.
A panel of three judges rejected KingSA国际影视传媒檚 grounds for overturning his sentence on Monday, saying that SA国际影视传媒渕uch of the appellant's arguments in support of this remedy offer nothing more than speculation and fanciful speculation at that.SA国际影视传媒�
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King was found guilty for the murder of John Wifladt and aggravated assault against Colin Digness. Both victims were found SA国际影视传媒渟ignificantly injured and covered in blood,SA国际影视传媒� in Digness's Yellowknife apartment.
Digness owned three ornamental swords. When the police arrived, they found the display SA国际影视传媒渙verturned, all the swords out of their sheaths, and the two longer swords covered with blood and located near the menSA国际影视传媒檚 bodies.SA国际影视传媒�
Later, King was seen on video footage from the Northern Lites Motel lobby, where he spoke with the concierge while making swinging motions with his arms, and saying something about SA国际影视传媒渄efending himself from a couple of guys with a bat or something,SA国际影视传媒� the concierge recalled.
The trial judge, Justice Andrew Mahar, concluded that SA国际影视传媒減utting together the presence of Denecho King at the Sunridge Apartments at the exact, narrow time that the men were injured, the compelling DNA evidence, and the pantomime motions made by Mr. King in the Northern Lites Motel lobby, the only rational conclusion I can reach is that the DNA was deposited by Denecho King when he used the swords to injure Colin Digness and ultimately kill John Wifladt.SA国际影视传媒�
The 's forensic inspection revealed that SA国际影视传媒渢he appellantSA国际影视传媒檚 DNA was found in large quantities on the handles of the two bloodied swords located near the bodies.SA国际影视传媒�
This was one issue King sought to appeal.
While the defence did not deny the DNA evidence, King's lawyer suggested that it was a result of contamination and thereby placed on the swords by police, or the victims themselves. Mahar dismissed that possibility at trial and the Court of Appeal agreed, referring to the amount of KingSA国际影视传媒檚 DNA on the sword handles as SA国际影视传媒渋ndisputable evidence.SA国际影视传媒�
While a DNA expert acknowledged that scenarios of secondary DNA transfer were possible, they are rare and SA国际影视传媒渨ould only account for small amounts of DNA in any event.SA国际影视传媒�
At trial, prosecutors told the court of some of KingSA国际影视传媒檚 other behaviours on the night of the attack. They described how he broke a window, threw a chair and assaulted a woman in the backseat of a cab.
However, information about an accusedSA国际影视传媒檚 past behaviour, also known as character evidence, is generally deemed inadmissible at criminal trials because it could influence a judge or jury.
This was another basis for KingSA国际影视传媒檚 appeal.
However, the appeal court determined that SA国际影视传媒渢his was not character evidence but rather part of the narrative.SA国际影视传媒�
The court of appeal declined to set aside KingSA国际影视传媒檚 convictions.
They judges decided that even if the evidence that King challenged was ruled inadmissible, to find King as not guilty SA国际影视传媒渨ould have been an unreasonable verdict.SA国际影视传媒�
SA国际影视传媒淚n our opinion, the trial judge's reasoning on this issue discloses no basis to warrant appellate intervention,SA国际影视传媒� the appeal judges stated.
KingSA国际影视传媒檚 life sentence, with no chance of parole for 12 years, therefore remains in place. He will continue serving his sentence at the Edmonton Institution, a maximum security federal prison in Alberta.
