On Wednesday, after a two-hour meeting, a jury in the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench made its decision regarding Billy Joe Linklater and Lorie Knott on the charge of killing Sanderson 2.5 years ago.
According to it, Linklater was convicted of second-degree murder. His girlfriend, Lorie Knott was acquitted.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty throughout the trial.
We want to recall that the 50-year-old man, David Sanderson, was killed in the summer of 2016. The cause of death was 33 stab wounds. On the night of his death, he was in the company of Linklater and Knott. All three people were drinking alcohol and using drugs.
Linklater and Knott were arrested three days after the body of the murdered person was found: they were recorded by the cameras after the night of the murder (Lorie Knott was wearing a sweater with the blood of the victim). The body was found after neighbors reported a fire. Probably the killer was hoping that the fire would burn the victim and nobody would be able to identify him.
The trial began in November of this year. Lorie said that she was too drunk to remember what was happening that night. However, she stated that there was a conflict between the men and she left the room. When she returned Sanderson was dead.
Linklater’s lawyer tried to persuade the court to blame Knott, saying that Sanderson offered money for having sex with the girl. So, she killed him after his offer – a good motive according to a lawyer. Plus, there was the blood on her sweater. However, Lorie explained that she was shocked when she saw that Sanderson was dead and she hugged him. Therefore, the blood of the victim was on her sweater.
First, the girl defended her boyfriend, but after a while she admitted that she had heard Linklater telling his friends what happened during that terrible night and confessing in the murder of Sanderson.
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