Waylon Harry, 25, has been found guilty of manslaughter in the December 2021 death of Kendra Samson, 19, near Williams Lake.
Harry and Samson were members of Esk’etemc First Nation, just south of Williams Lake where they both lived.
An autopsy showed ligature strangulation as the cause of her death inside the home Harry shared with his mom.
Friends, members of the community and support workers filled a Williams Lake Supreme Court room to standing room only on Friday, April 26, to hear Madame Justice Marguerite Church deliver her written decision.
Church said she agreed Harry had committed an unlawful act and that the unlawful act caused Samson’s death. But due to Harry’s level of intoxication, as well as the level of Samson’s intoxication, she did not believe Harry had the intent required to be found guilty of murder.
Church also said there was no apparent motive as the two were good friends.
She summarized testimony heard during the trial with key witnesses being Harry’s mother and others on scene the morning of Samson’s death.
Evidence included a 40-minute taped conversation while a neighbour was on the phone with 911, as well as a recorded conversation of Harry in the police vehicle with an officer en route to the Williams Lake detachment.
Williams Lake RCMP officers who responded to the 911 call gave testimony, as did the doctor who examined Samson’s body, and an expert toxicologist for the RCMP.
Church said witnesses described seeing a line across Samson’s neck from being strangled, some bruising to her cheeks and temples.
She also said it appeared Harry and Samson had begun consuming alcohol the evening before and were still awake at 8:29 a.m. the next morning when Harry’s mother left the house to go to her own mother’s.
A short while later, Church said, the phone rang at Harry’s grandmother’s home.
It was Harry telling his mom he needed a ride.
When his mom got to the house, she walked to Harry’s bedroom where he was sitting on the bed. Samson was laying with her head toward the wall and a cell phone cord visible from behind her neck.
Wanting to call 911, his mom started looking for the phone.
She told the court Harry tried to stop her, sounding scared but forceful, and told his mom he had done it in self-defense or that he was trying to put her to sleep.
Upon arrival, community members tried first aid as did the RCMP when they got there at 10:45 a.m.
When paramedics arrived, they pronounced Samson dead.
Harry remained in the home during that time and was arrested.
Two knives and a cell phone cord were taken from his pockets and he was transported to the Williams Lake detachment.
Once Church finished reading her decision, one man in the courtroom yelled out, “Why did you do it?” then crumbled into his seat, sobbing audibly.
Harry, who was wearing a black suit and white shirt, his hair newly-cut, had his head down through most of the time Church was giving her decision. As he was escorted out of the courtroom by sheriffs, others in the courtroom were sobbing audibly, some hugging each other.
B.C. Sheriff Annika Westwick moved toward the crowd and encouraged everyone to support one another, saying their community “has been through a lot.”
The case was adjourned to Monday, May 27 to fix a date for sentencing.
Outside the courtroom in the waiting area, a woman wearing a ribbon skirt was smudging people as they entered and left the proceedings.
READ MORE: Communities come together as youth murder trial wraps up in Williams Lake
READ MORE: Man, 23, charged in death of woman, 19, at Esk’etemc near Williams Lake
Don’t miss out on reading the latest local, provincial and national news offered at the Williams Lake Tribune. Sign up for our free newsletter here.