James Lee Busch has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years in the high-profile 2019 killing of Metchosin, B.C.’s Martin Payne.
A 12-member jury found Busch guilty of first-degree murder on Wednesday. His co-accused, Zachary Armitage, pleaded guilty to the same halfway through the trial, and will learn his fate on Tuesday.
Life imprisonment is the mandatory minimum for first- and second-degree murder in Canada.
Busch appeared in Vancouver’s B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday, shackled at the ankles. He declined to speak, but as he was led out of the courtroom by sheriffs, muttered quietly, “Is the party over then?”
Payne was murdered in his home on July 8, 2019, one day after Busch and Armitage escaped the minimum-security William Head Institution, about eight kilometres from Payne’s house. The pair skirted the oceanside facility’s fencing by walking along the shoreline at low tide, according to prosecutors.
Payne’s daughters, Calla and Jessica Payne, read powerful victim impact statements in court that addressed, in part, years of missed memories and future opportunities with their father. Payne was a beloved mail carrier, described as goofy, fun-loving, and endlessly generous.
“When you experience a situation like this, it doesn’t just affect you, your family and your loved ones, it affects everyone in your extended circle, including future generations,” Calla said outside the courtroom.
Standing with family, who attended each day of the five-week trial, she said life behind bars is “never going to be enough” for her father’s killers.
“We’re happy accountability is being taken with that length of sentence. We hope that no one else will ever have to experience what we’ve experienced because (Busch) will be away.”
Payne was found dead on the bathroom floor on July 12, 2019, a pool of blood by his head. A hatchet, a Bowie knife, a small knife, bloody shoes and clothing were recovered from the scene.
Over the five-week trial, the jury heard expert testimony that Payne died of chop wounds consistent with a hatchet delivered from behind, and sharp wounds consistent with a Bowie knife delivered from the front. Armitage’s fingerprints were found in the home, and DNA on a pair of shoes in the house proved Busch was there as well, jurors were told.
At the time of their escape, Busch, was serving an indeterminate sentence for second-degree murder and assault, while Armitage was serving a nearly 14-year sentence for robbery, aggravated assault and other offences.
The pair was arrested on July 9, 2019, after they approached a man walking a dog who happened to be an off-duty police officer. Busch was wearing Payne’s clothing at the time and was in possession of the victim’s car and house keys, jurors heard.
Crown prosecutors Chandra Fisher and Sophia Bakken thanked jurors and Payne’s family outside the courtroom on Thursday and said the case has impacted them personally.
“We try to steel ourselves, but the loss they have suffered is right in front of you,” Fisher said.
“It has been a long time and it’s been really hard on the family. They’ve behaved with such dignity throughout, in spite of some of the very difficult evidence they’ve had to hear.”
Learning the details — however gruesome — of their father’s death has been helpful in the family’s journey, Jessica said. It has created a situation where they can “begin to heal” and “maybe come to terms with it down the line,” added Calla.
– With files from Simon Little and Aaron McArthur