A northern Alberta man has been found guilty of killing his estranged wife and her daughter.
A court in Peace River has found Edward Chomiak guilty of first-degree murder in the December 2010 death of Melody Perry, who was 45. The farmer was also found guilty of second-degree murder of Jerica Bouchard, who was 20.
Court heard that he shot both of the women numerous times in their home near Fahler, 430 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
Perry and Chomiak met in 2002 on the Internet and married in 2003, according to the Edmonton Journal. A family member told the Journal there was emotional, physical and verbal abuse throughout the relationship, but the situation worsened after Perry ended the relationship at the beginning of 2010.
Relatives reportedly urged Perry to leave the area, but she had a new relationship and believed she and Chomiak would each move forward with their lives.
At the time of her death, Perry had a restraining order against Chomiak. During the trial a tape of a 911 call was played, in which Perry tells a dispatcher that Chomiak is in the house with a gun and had shot her daughter. A 911 hangup call alerted EMS to their rural residence, where their bodies were found.
The double murder case experienced several delays, prompting the family of Perry and Bouchard to share their frustration with Global News in 2014. At that time, the family had been waiting more than three years for the double murder case to go to trial.
WATCH BELOW: Tue, Apr 8, 2014 – For more than three years, a northern Alberta family has been waiting for a court case to proceed in a double murder. Vinesh Pratap has their story.
In one instance, the family drove three hours to Peace River expecting the long-awaited trial to finally start. Instead, the defence asked for a psychiatric evaluation, delaying the matter again.
Chomiak went through several lawyers after being charged.
READ MORE: Alberta family fed up with court delays in double murder case
The issue was a complex one, since the Charter calls for an accused to have the right to a fair trial within a reasonable amount of time to ensure the proper administration of justice. That usually means there’s pressure on the Crown and the system, in general, to proceed to trial. However, the accused also had the right to change council as he felt.
Chomiak is to be sentenced Friday.
-With files from Vinesh Pratap, Global News, and The Canadian Press
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