A B.C. Supreme Court justice found Teresa Marie Charlie guilty Monday of accessory after the fact to murder in the January 2012 death of Fribjon Bjornson on the Nakazdli reserve adjacent to Fort St. James.
Justice Ron Tindale concluded Charlie intentionally lied when police contacted her shortly after remains from Bjornson's body were found in a neighbouring house.
Charlie had claimed she and her boyfriend, Wesley Dennis Duncan, 30, had moved to Binchie and were no longer living at Nakazdli at the time of Bjornson's death.
But nearly two years later, Charlie told undercover police working sting that she was in the 3 Lower Road home over the night Bjronson was killed and repeated much of her story when speaking to uniform officers in a subsequent interview.
Charlie gave a "detailed, visceral and raw" account of what she saw and did - including closing the eyes of a now-dead Bjornson - leaving no question she and Duncan were there, Tindale said.
Defence counsel Rob Climie had argued that even if Charlie had provided a false alibi to police it did not matter because investigators did not believe her. But Tindale found that was beside the point and that Charlie wanted to assist Duncan escape justice.
However, Tindale found Charlie not guilty of attempting to pervert, defeat or obstruct justice, concluding there was not enough evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that she had helped clean up the crime scene.
On that note, Climie contended co-accused Jesse Darren Bird, 34, talked her into telling undercover officers she was involved in dealing with the aftermath. The officers were posing as high-ranking crime bosses in an attempt to gain the suspects' trust and coax a confession out of them. Bird had just confessed to his role in the murder and had advised her to lie to the officers to protect her from being regarded as a "rat" in the view of the fictitious criminal organization they were representing, Climie argued.
Tindale said he didn't "particularly accept" that as the reason why Charlie said she participated, but noted there was no forensic evidence of blood being swiped as if it was being cleaned up nor could she identify what was used to remove the blood except at Bird's prompting, and even then she could give only a vague reference.
Tindale noted Charlie made no mention of so-called "holdback" evidence, or items found at investigators found at the scene, that would have corroborated her involvement.
Charlie spent most of the hour-long proceeding hunched over in the prisoner's box. During the brief time she did sit up, Charlie had tears in her eyes and she was sobbing.
Like they've done for most of the hearings, Bjornson's parents and other family adding up to about a dozen people, were in the gallery to take in the verdict. At the outset of his delivery, Tindale said he would have to recount the gruesome details surrounding Bjornson's death and apologized to the family.
Evidence read into the record shows Bjornson had just cashed a paycheque for $2,500 and had gone to the home in the past to purchase cocaine.
Sentencing for Charlie will occur after a pre-sentence report has been completed, a process expected to take seven weeks.
Charlie, who has been in custody since her arrest slightly more than three years ago, will remain in custody. Duncan and Bird pleaded guilty in late August to second degree murder and await sentencing.
The case against James David Charlie, 26, who faces one count each of murder and interference with a dead body, remains before the court.
