A 27-year-old man has been found guilty of murder in the 2020 death of Tofino resident Mathew Phillips.
After several hours of deliberation, a 12-person BC Supreme Court jury in Port Alberni determined late on Tuesday, April 8 that Luke Priddle, 27, was guilty of second-degree murder. He was also found guilty of robbery and theft of a motor vehicle.
The jury heard over two weeks from various Crown witnesses, who painted a picture of the early morning of Dec. 28, 2020. Priddle and Phillips, 47, had met up for sex in Phillips' Tofino home, but when Priddle refused to pay for some cocaine he had taken, Phillips attempted to stop him from leaving.
Priddle stabbed Phillips in the neck, severing his carotid artery and jugular vein.
Defence argued that Priddle had been "scared for his life" and too intoxicated by cocaine use to form the intent to murder. But Crown prosecutors pointed out the number and severity of injuries to Phillips鈥� body. Phillips had been found with 75 knife wounds, many of which had been delivered with "a significant degree of force."
After killing Phillips, Priddle took Phillips' Honda CR-V, as well as a box of cash and cocaine. He was arrested in Nanaimo on Dec. 30, 2020.
Priddle will be sentenced at a later date, although this hasn't been set yet.
