B.C. Court of Appeal overturns murder conviction of Kelowna man

The British Columbia Court of Appeal has ordered a new trial for a Kelowna, B.C., man convicted of second-degree murder for bludgeoning another man with a hammer in 2014.

Steven Pirko, 30, was convicted for attacking Christopher Ausman, then 32, after he intervened in a fight between his friend Elrick Dyckand Ausman in the Rutland neighbourhood of the Central Okanagan city.

Pirkowas convicted for killingAusman by hitting him at least twice in the head with a hammer.

In a unanimous decision, a three-justice panel of B.C.'s highest court overturned Pirko's conviction, ruling that the trial judge's charge to the jury was "so confusing as to amount to error in law."

In the ruling, issued Tuesday, Justice Gregory Fitch saidthe trial judge "misdirected"the jury on the section of the Criminal Code that allows for the lawful defence of another, and failed to help jury members understand how the offence of manslaughter could apply.

Fitch also saidthe judge's final instructions about Pirko's criminal record were "incomplete and deficient in law."

Since January 2020, Pirko has been serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for 11 years, but the Appeal Court ruling clears the way for a new trial, with a date yet to be set.

The trial judge's errors "were not harmless," saidFitch, and "cannot be cured"' through other legal measures.

"The cumulative effect of the errors resulted in an unsatisfactory trial," he saidin the decision.