Court upholds verdict in wrong-address murder

SASKATOON • The gang leader behind a botched hit that led to the death of a 34-year-old Saskatoon mother of four has lost an appeal of his conviction.

A judge found Joshua Petrin guilty in 2016 of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced him to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Lorry Ann Santos was shot to death in the front entryway of her home in September 2012 by two gunmen.

Petrin’s trial heard that the shooters had gone to the wrong address after he directed them to kill a former member of his White Boy Posse gang, a drug-dealing operation that was expanding into Saskatchewan.

Petrin had argued his case should be retried because payments made to some witnesses weren’t disclosed and the trial judge didn’t take enough account of credibility issues with some testimony.

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal disagreed.

During Petrin’s trial, Santos’s husband, Ferdinand, told court that on the morning his wife was killed, they were eating breakfast around 6 a.m. while their children were still asleep. He moved to the master washroom to get ready for work and his wife laid down on the bed in the next room with their infant child.

Santos testified he didn’t recall hearing the doorbell, but did hear loud gunshots that sounded as though they were inside the house. He left the washroom and saw the baby was still on the bed. His wife wasn’t there.

He told court he went into the hall and saw his wife facedown and bleeding. Their oldest daughter called 911.

She was pronounced dead in hospital at 6:54 a.m.