Retrial reduces charge in Musgrave killing
Family shocked by manslaughter conviction
The family of Brandon Musgrave reacted with shock and disappointment to Joshua Warner being found guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter in the 18-year-old’s death over music at a spring break party.
The jury found co-accused Tyrone Chambers guilty of second-degree murder in the March 12, 2010, shooting at a student house party on Dundurn Street South.
Both men were also found guilty Thursday of aggravated assault. Two other students were shot at the party but survived.
“At the end of the day I think they are both responsible,” said the slain teen’s mom Janet Musgrave. “But I have to accept the jury’s decision and learn to live with it and just keep the memories of my son.”
Warner, 29, and Chambers, 31, were both found guilty of second-degree murder in November 2013 but the convictions were quashed in 2016 because of errors in the judge’s jury instruction.
“We’ve been fighting for justice for seven years and two trials,” said Musgrave. “I wouldn’t wish that on anyone at all. It’s very difficult and very draining. It takes every bit of your energy.”
Musgrave says she doesn’t even know what she would consider justice anymore.
“I still don’t have my son,” she said. “It’s so hard because when you have family functions, holidays and birthdays there is always someone missing. Our lives will never be the same.”
The retrial started in October and Justice Toni Skarica acknowledged it took twice as long as expected. The jury started deliberations Wednesday morning and some were in tears when the verdict was announced.
Supporters of Warner gasped, cried and hugged when the jury found him not guilty of second-degree murder while some members of the Musgrave family shook their heads in disappointment.
Chambers looked around the courtroom and scowled after being found guilty of second-degree murder, which is an automatic life sentence with parole eligibility somewhere between 10 and 25 years.
Nine jurors provided no recommendation on when Chambers should be eligible to apply for parole while one suggested 10 years and two advised 15 years.
Chambers will be sentenced Feb. 21 and Warner on Feb. 23.
“The previous verdict to today, there’s a slight downgrade,” said Hamilton police Det.-Sgt. Steve Bereziuk. “However, at the end of the day we have to respect the process. The jurors were tasked with a difficult job, it was a difficult case and they’ve come to a decision and we have to respect that and we do.”
Skarica called the verdict “reasonable” when thanking the jury.
Musgrave was trying to calm a dispute over music at a party hosted by Columbia International College students when he was shot in the head.
Chambers admitted during the trial taking a loaded handgun, hidden in a sock, to the party at 53 Dundurn St. S., and pointing it when the music was not to his liking and wasn’t changed. But he said he did not fire.
Witnesses in the trial said both men fired guns. Warner admitted to shooting one of the other victims who lived but said Chambers killed Musgrave.
The trials have left the Musgrave family disillusioned with the court system.
“We’re just ready to move on,” said his mother. “Brandon is gone. All we wanted for him is justice in the eyes of the law. At the end of the day, it’s for us to be able to move forward with our life.”
The family is also broken hearted and struggling with mental health issues related to the murder says his older sister Chivon Musgrave.
“The murder is one thing but it’s the impact that it has had on our mental, physical, emotional and spiritual being,” she said.