Kristopher Guenther appeals first-degree murder conviction

WATCH: The man convicted of first degree murder in the death of Lacey Jones McKnight is launching an appeal. Kristopher Guenther was given an automatic life sentence in April. Global’s Gary Bobrovitz reports.

CALGARY – The mother of a Calgary murder victim says she is “devastated” the killer is launching an appeal.

Shelly Jones told Global News she was shocked to learn that Kristopher Guenther, convicted of first-degree murder in the death of her daughter Lacey Jones McKnight on March 20, filed his appeal in Calgary court.

Guenther was given an automatic life sentence in April, with no parole eligibility for 25 years. The news of his appeal on Friday has brought back painful memories for McKnight’s mother, Shelly Jones.

“That’s the most important thing for me…is for our family to have some peace,” said Jones. “And that won’t happen until his appeals stop.”

“I was not at all prepared for this…I literally feel as if I’ve been kicked in the stomach…Why can’t this monster for once in his pathetic life do the right thing and accept the consequences of what he did?” she wrote on her Facebook page.

READ MORE: Victim’s mother says she’s ‘paralyzed’ by grief during murderer’s sentencing hearing

Jones McKnight was murdered in October 2012 by Guenther in an argument over infidelity.

His bizzare behaviour on that day included driving around Calgary with his ex-fiancee’s body in his vehicle, then attempting to hang himself from a bridge before being rescued by police.

In March, a judge found Guenther guilty, calling his actions “monstrous.”

Guenther is appealing on the grounds the trial judge made an error in law by ruling he confined his victim before killing her. That ruling raised the crime from second-degree murder to first-degree murder.

Guenther is seeking a new trial or a conviction on a lesser offence. He is currently serving his murder sentence at the Edmonton Institution.

Meanwhile, Shelly Jones says she’s been focusing on the good memories and trying to go forward from there.

READ MORE: Court releases 911 call made on night of Lacey Jones-McKnight’s murder