A woman has been convicted of second-degree murder for fatally stabbing her fiancé during a domestic dispute on the Muskoday First Nation.
Robyn Laura Ermine, 30, killed Evan Bear, 27, two years ago on the Saskatchewan reserve.
READ MORE: Frantic 911 call played at Muskoday First Nation murder trial
During the trial, the court heard the pair argued throughout the day of his death, but the fighting escalated and became more physical after they spent the night drinking with Ermine’s step-sister.
Ermine testified he had grabbed her by the throat, choking her, and the defence argued she acted in self-defence but the Crown maintained it was a use of unreasonable force.
After more than eight hours of deliberating, the jury came back to deliver the verdict on Wednesday evening.
Sentencing for Ermine is expected on Friday, and she was released to be monitored in the community until then.
READ MORE: Sask. RCMP charge woman with second-degree murder
Darcy Bear, an officer with the Prince Albert Police Service, said outside court that his family had warned his brother not to stay with Ermine in what he called a toxic relationship.
“He wouldn’t have it. He loved her, for whatever reason,” Bear said. “We started to accept it toward the end and just let them be. No matter how many times he came to us with busted windows on his vehicle because she freaked out, busted glasses because she broke his nose.”
Bear described his brother as someone who took pride in how he looked, had an interest in the military and performed in a rap group.
He said Evan touched and influenced a lot of people.
“We have our issues with anger but we come from a very good upbringing of respect for women,” he said. “At any given time, at any point had we wanted to ‘win this fight,’ he could have but that’s not how we were raised. That’s not who he is, that’s not who he was.”
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