Alberta’s prime court docket has dismissed an attraction by a person discovered responsible of stabbing his estranged spouse 17 occasions.
The Courtroom of Enchantment of Alberta says a trial decide made no errors when he convicted Robert Dean Clifford final yr of second-degree homicide within the loss of life of 31-year-old Nichole Clifford, who additionally used the final title McKeith.
“This was a really robust circumstantial case,” the court docket stated in its determination launched Monday.
“The trial decide fastidiously reviewed the vital proof, made cheap findings of truth and drew inferences nicely supported by the proof.”
The lady’s bloodied physique was discovered on the backside of the basement stairs in her Wainwright dwelling in February 2017. Courtroom heard she was final seen alive leaving a buddy’s dwelling.
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A health worker testified stab wounds close to her neck and shoulder have been doubtless brought on by a two-edged object, like scissors. She additionally had cuts and bruises on her arms.
Robert Clifford’s belt was discovered close to her physique with blood stains.
He had been dwelling in a trailer within the dwelling’s yard on the time, because the couple had separated.
A lawyer for Clifford argued within the attraction that the trial decide erred within the evaluation of DNA discovered below the spouse’s nails and didn’t correctly scrutinize professional testimony.
However the Courtroom of Enchantment disagreed and stated the professional was confronted with a number of various eventualities.
Clifford’s lawyer additionally argued the trial decide misunderstood proof and inferred that the belt may need been concerned within the homicide.
The Enchantment Courtroom stated proof from the trial confirmed the lady’s neck or chest had been compressed, and the belt was visibly misplaced whereas subsequent to her physique.
Clifford additionally argued the decide took into consideration testimony from a witness who couldn’t bear in mind the right order of occasions main as much as the killing.
The court docket stated, in actual fact, the trial decide didn’t settle for the testimony of the witness.
“The asserted misapprehensions of proof are both not supported by a contextual studying of the explanations of the trial decide, or in any other case don’t play a central function in his causes,” the court docket stated.
“He dedicated no errors of legislation. Consequently, the attraction is dismissed.”
© 2024 The Canadian Press
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