Jason McKay guilty of 2nd-degree murder in domestic homicide
Jenny McKay stabbed several times before and after death
A Regina judge has convicted Jason Daniel Mckay of second-degree murder for stabbing his wife to death in 2017.
McKay, 47, had pleaded not guilty to the charge at Regina's Court of Queen's Bench.
He admitted to stabbing Jenny, 33, to death in September 2017. However, the defence argued McKay was too intoxicated to form intent, due to a combination of alcohol and antidepressants. They said he could not appreciate the consequences of his actions.
The Crown had argued McKay killed Jenny with malice and anger, highlighting a relationship with escalating violence.
Court heard Jenny had tried to leave the relationship and find a new place to live. Witnesses testified about seeing McKay punch Jenny, or try to. She also called 911 in the days before her death, expressing a fear that he was going to kill her.
A forensic pathologist testified that Jenny was stabbed numerous times before and after death.
McKay testified at the trial that a strange voice told him to kill Jenny that night. He did not tell police about the supposed voice when he was interviewed at length after his arrest, and the Crown suggested McKay was lying.
McKay's testimony 'contradictory': Judge
Justice Michael Tochor said most of McKay's testimony was contradicted by other evidence.
Tochor said inconsistencies seriously eroded McKay's credibility.
"I find his evidence is plagued by inconsistencies," he said, referring to McKay's depictions of his fragmented memories while testifying about the night Jenny died.
Furthermore, he said McKay's characterization of his and Jenny's relationship as positive was directly contradicted by "a wealth of evidence" and "not grounded in reality."
McKay had testified that he entered a blackout state after his first sip of wine that night after 8 p.m., but the judge says he showed no overt signs of impairment at that time based on surveillance footage.
He also said McKay did not display signs consistent with severe intoxication after his arrest and at the police station.
Tochor said he did not believe McKay's evidence that he experienced an alcohol induced blackout, which meant he had to reject the testimony of pharmacology expert Steven Richardson.
McKay is expected to be sentenced on April 3.
Friends reflect on Jenny's life
"I am so happy, beyond belief, that he got second-degree murder," Colette Toupin, a friend of Jenny's, said outside of court after the decision.
"It's been so emotional. It's been such a roller-coaster."
Toupin said she hoped to see McKay earn the harshest punishment possible for his crime.
Shandy Maertens, another friend, said Jenny was the kind of person who would take the shirt off her back to help another person in need.
Michelle Hein said Jenny was "a firecracker" with a "zest for life."
"She had passion for everything she did," said Hein.
"She should be doing what you guys are doing right now," she told reporters. "She was a journalist.
"It's just not fair it was all taken away from her, way too soon."
With files from Bryan Eneas