Court dismisses appeal of Saskatoon man found guilty of fatal stabbing

A man responsible for a fatal stabbing at Saskatoon's Northwoods Inn and Suites will not receive a new trial.

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has dismissed Alvin Naistus' appeal of both his sentence and conviction.

In 2017, a jury found Naistus guilty of second-degree murder after William Johnston was stabbed and killed. He received a life sentence.

Defence lawyer Patrick McDougall told the court Naistus' girlfriend had come forward with new evidence, showing that a Crown witness may have intentionally misled the jury during the trial.

The court refused the argument that Naistus' girlfriend had new information, as no affadavit was entered as to what the information might be.

McDougall had initially filed concerns over the judge's instructions to the jury but abandoned those arguments on the first day of the appeal hearing.

However, after hearing the Crown's arguments on jury instruction, the court's judges considered the issue, eventually ruling there was no reason for them to intervene.

During the trial, jurors saw video of the altercation between Naistus and Johnston, and heard from people who witnessed the violence.

Second-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for at least 10 years.