James Dylan Sanford was convicted of manslaughter for the stabbing death of Daniel Myles in September 2020.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED / RCMP
January 27, 2023 - 3:45 PM
A Kamloops jury couldn't be convinced Daniel Myles' killer was acting in self-defence in a 2020 stabbing at a local motel.
James Dylan Sanford, 34, was convicted of manslaughter yesterday, Jan. 27, after a four-day trial.
His lawyers Jay Michi and Joe Killoran argued Sanford was provoked and acting in self-defence and tried to have him acquitted.
"Mr. Myles was terrorizing him," Michi told iNFOnews.ca. "The jury accepted he was provoked."
Sanford was accused of second-degree murder after he killed Myles on Sept. 12, 2020, at what was then known as the Acadian Inn on Columbia Street.
Michi argued Myles was threatening and terrorizing Sanford, ultimately leading up to him pouring gasoline on the steps outside the suite Sanford lived in.
If the jury agreed Sanford was acting in self-defence, his murder charge would have been acquitted. Instead, he was convicted of manslaughter and he now awaits a sentencing hearing.
Police were called to the motel around 6:30 a.m. that day and Myles was still alive.
Paramedics took him to Royal Inland Hospital and he later died of his injuries, having been stabbed in the chest.
RCMP said at the time the stabbing started with an altercation in the parking lot, but police knew of a "slowly escalating" conflict that began at least around 3 a.m.
Sanford was arrested around 8:30 a.m. the day of the stabbing and charged with second-degree murder, Sept. 12.
Sanford is scheduled for a Feb. 6 hearing to set a date for sentencing and he's currently on bail.
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