Butcher found guilty of second-degree murder

A jury has found Nicholas Butcher guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Kristin Johnston, rejecting his claim that he was acting in self-defence when he stabbed the Montrealborn yoga instructor to death.

The 12-member Nova Scotia Supreme Court jury delivered its verdict Saturday after five hours of deliberation over two days.

Butcher, 36, showed no emotion as the verdict was read. Friends of Johnston could be heard sniffling in the courtroom, as Butcher sat at his lawyer’s bench and looked directly forward.

A second-degree murder conviction carries an automatic life sentence. A hearing to determine Butcher’s parole eligibility is scheduled for July 20.

Butcher was charged with second-degree murder after police found Johnston’s body next to a steak knife on a blood-soaked bed inside her Halifax-area home on March 26, 2016.

Crown lawyer Carla Ball said it’s been a stressful two years for Johnston’s family and friends, but “justice has been done.

“Domestic violence is not something that is unusual, unfortunately. We can say that it’s a tragic event for everyone involved,” said Ball, standing alongside fellow prosecutor Tanya Carter. “In this case, the evidence was very clear that Mr. Butcher was responsible.”

Butcher, a law school graduate who wasn’t able to find work in his field, was living with Johnston at the time of her death.

The jury heard that he called 911 and told the dispatcher he had killed his girlfriend and tried to kill himself.

He also cut off his right hand with a mitre saw, but it was surgically reattached.

The Crown had argued Butcher deliberately killed Johnston, 32, after realizing their relationship was deteriorating.

The jury heard that in the weeks, days and hours leading up to her death, Johnston told friends she wanted to break up with Butcher. The Crown suggested that Butcher read some of those messages on the evening of March 25, 2016, when he accessed Johnston’s computer, and realized Johnston wanted to end their relationship.

In the early hours of March 26, Johnston was hanging out at an old friend’s apartment when Butcher showed up there unexpectedly.

Friends who were also there that night testified that Johnston and Butcher stepped outside together and she came back in alone, telling them she had broken up with Butcher.

Butcher returned to the apartment a second time and found Johnston kissing her old friend, Michael Belyea.

Hours later, Johnston was dead.

Ball suggested Butcher stabbed Johnston to death and then tried to kill himself with the same knife before cutting off his right hand with a mitre saw.