FILE PHOTO - Kamloops RCMP were called to the 9000 block of Dallas Drive Feb. 11, 2017, in response to a disturbance.

(KIM ANDERSON / iNFOnews.ca)

KAMLOOPS - A 59-year-old Kamloops man convicted of second-degree murder after stabbing and beating his former friend to death at a Kamloops RV Park was sentenced to life in prison and today he learned when he will be eligible to seek parole.

Kamloops Supreme Court Justice Len Marchand set Stephen George Fraser's parole eligibility at 12 years today, May 17.

On Feb. 11, 2017, Fraser, 59, was arrested and charged for an altercation that left his former colleague and friend, 26-year-old Cody Foster dead in his own camper trailer.

During Fraser's trial last winter, a 12-member jury learned the two men had met 14 months before the incident occurred. The two worked together at Adwood Manufacturing in Kamloops and spent time socializing together outside of work.

On the afternoon of the killing, the two men were drinking together in Foster's camper when an altercation ensued. Fraser told the jury Foster threatened to kill him and Fraser was simply trying to defend himself.

Crown prosecutors Alex Janse and Camille Cook brought forward pathologist Dr. James Stephen who performed the autopsy on Foster's body to testify as an expert witness. According to Stephen's report, Foster suffered from 17 stab wounds from a sharp-edged instrument and 11 lacerations caused by blunt force trauma. The knife used to kill Forster was broken into six pieces, some of which were still protruding from Foster's neck during the autopsy.

A jury convicted Fraser of second-degree murder on Dec. 13, 2018.

Crown prosecutors and defence lawyers met earlier this week to enter submissions for Fraser's parole ineligibility. Prosecutors asked for 14 to 15 years of parole ineligibility while defence lawyers sought 10 to 12 years.

Fraser's period of parole ineligibility began on Feb. 11, 2017, so it will be ten years before he can apply for parole.

For past stories on Stephen George Fraser go here.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Karen Edwards or call (250) 819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2019