Jury finds Kelowna man guilty of killing room-mate

UPDATE Oct. 24 5:30 p.m.
Daniel Garth Ruff has been found guilty of second degree murder in the death of Warren Welters.

The verdict comes with a mandatory life sentence.

A judge has set his parole eligibility

Ruff showed no emotion as the verdict was read.

Before being sentenced, Ruff turned to Welter’s daughter in the courtroom and said he was sorry and that it was a senseless tragedy.

Original Story:

A Kelowna jury has to determine if a killing in June 2015 is second-degree murder or self-defence.

Warren Welters was bludgeoned to death by repeated hammer blows to the back of his head in a Bernard Avenue suite he shared with Daniel Ruff.

Ruff admits he delivered the fatal blows but claims he was defending himself.

Ruff testified he was being choked by Welters, who was on top of him on the floor, when he reached into a closet and grabbed the hammer to strike Welters to save himself.

The prosecutor calls that explanation implausible if not impossible, pointing to blood-spatter evidence he says disproves that scenario.

Colin Forsyth told the jury in his closing statement, “I suggest you will have little trouble finding the blood-letting came from the back of Warren Welter’s head and was inflicted while he was face down on the bed, not while he was engaged in a dramatic and violent struggle.”

After the slaying, Ruff washed the blood off himself and the hammer, changed his blood-stained shirt, and lied to police about what happened. Evidence of a guilty mind according to the prosecutor. Not so contends the defence lawyer.

Grant Gray says it was foolish to lie but he told the jury, “Sometimes people lie for innocent reasons that have nothing to do with culpability or guilt such as fear, panic, confusion, intoxication, trauma or shock.”

Ruff is also relying on the defence of intoxication, arguing he was so drunk he couldn’t form the intent to kill that’s necessary for a murder conviction. Gray said that could lead to a less serious manslaughter conviction instead.

But Forsyth says the clear answers Ruff gave to the 9-1-1 operator and police right after the killing discount that defence.

It’s the Crown’s theory the killing was motivated by Ruff’s intense dislike of his room-mate.

The two men often fought over money and there is evidence Welters was trying to evict his killer.

The judge will complete her final instructions to the jury Tuesday and then the seven women, five men panel will be sequestered to deliberate its verdict.