Not guilty verdict in gun death of Indigenous man
HAMILTON — Indigenous leaders said Wednesday they were shocked and disappointed by a Hamilton jury’s decision to acquit a local homeowner in the shooting death of a Six Nations man who broke into his truck at night.
Peter Khill, 28, had admitted he killed Jon Styres around 3 a.m. on Feb. 4, 2016, but pleaded not guilty to seconddegree murder, saying he fired in self-defence when he thought Styres was pointing a gun at him.
Styres, a 29-year-old father of two from Ohsweken, Ont., on the Six Nations reserve, did not have a gun at the time of the shooting, the trial heard.
The mother of Styres’s children broke into loud sobs and had to leave the courtroom after the jury delivered its verdict.
The Six Nations Elected Council called on the Crown to appeal the trial’s outcome.
“How can Indigenous people have faith in the relationship with Canada when the justice system fails to hold anyone accountable for the taking of a life?” Elected Chief Ava Hill said in a statement.
Khill’s trial garnered attention for its similarities to a recent Saskatchewan case, in which white farmer Gerald Stanley was acquitted in the shooting death of young Indigenous man Colten Boushie.
“Jonathan Styres, Colten Boushie (and other Indigenous victims) were all born with mothers and fathers, raised as children with hopes and dreams and were loved as adults with families and responsibilities,” Hill said. “It is unfathomable that their tragic deaths are unanswered by the Canadian justice system.”
Khill remained stoic as the verdict was read out. His lawyer said later Khill told him he was grateful for the verdict.
The trial heard that Khill and Benko awoke to the sound of banging outside their rural home early on a February morning in 2016. Khill looked out the window and saw Styres inside his truck, the jury heard. Khill loaded his shotgun, left the home through the back door and went to confront Styres, court heard.
At trial Khill testified that he had yelled at Styres to put his hands up and fired as Styres began to turn towards him. Styres was facing sideways with his hands at waist height when he was shot, Crown lawyer Steve O’Brien told the jury.