A Superior court jury has found Tyler Sels guilty of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Charles St. Jean in 2018.
Sels, 24, was also found guilty of aggravated assault with a weapon and assault with a weapon. He had pleaded not guilty to all three counts, saying instead he was acting in self-defence that night, and that he used a knife to fend off an angry group that was attacking him.
Sels will be serving a life sentence as a result of the conviction. The minimum parole eligibility for second-degree murder is 10 years. With no recommendation from the jury with respect to deferred parole eligibility, the matter will return to court Dec. 7 in assignment court.
Sels has been in custody for more than three years. If he is given a credit of 1.5 for that time, that means he will have about 4.5 years removed from his sentence.
The trial started Sept. 29. Following weeks of testimony from a number of Crown witnesses, the 12-member jury started deliberating on a verdict Monday afternoon. They spent more than two days contemplating the verdict.
Superior Court Justice Dan Cornell thanked them all for their dedication and for doing their civic duty and discharged the jury members following the conviction.
A pre-sentence report has been ordered to assist in sentencing.
