Strathmore man guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend
Jury rejects claim that accused was too drunk to have formed intent to kill
Glenn Randall showed no outward emotion Tuesday as a Calgary jury convicted him of first-degree murder in the shooting death of his exgirlfriend nearly four years ago.
The five-woman, seven-man jury deliberated about 12 hours over two days before finding Randall guilty as charged in the killing of Brenda Walker in her Strathmore home.
Randall, 56, admitted shooting Walker, 49, six times, including twice in the head, but said he was too drunk to remember committing the slaying.
Defence lawyer Jennifer Ruttan had argued Randall was too intoxicated to form the intent to commit murder and, therefore, should be convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter in the Jan. 6, 2015, killing.
But jurors agreed with Crown prosecutor Lori Chambers, who submitted the evidence showed Walker’s killing was a planned and deliberate act.
Before handing Randall an automatic life sentence without parole for a minimum 25 years, Justice Earl Wilson heard victim-impact statements from five friends of Walker, as well as a statement from Randall.
Kristen Miller said Walker’s loss has been felt by many people.
“Brenda Walker enriched my life and the lives of everyone she ever encountered,” Miller said.
Randall said, despite jurors finding he wanted Walker dead, he still cares for her very much.
“I’m so sorry that this happened, because I never wanted anything but joy and happiness for Brenda,” he said.
“Although Brenda is gone, she will continue to live in my heart forever,” Randall said.
“Her death was senseless.” Outside court, Chambers agreed with the convicted killer’s assessment.
“It’s hard to get into somebody’s mind and understand why they would do something so awful to somebody they professed to love,” Chambers said.
“What he did, quite frankly, makes no sense.”
In convincing jurors to convict Randall, Chambers said a series of texts leading up to the early morning shooting showed he was getting increasingly angry with Walker, who had ended her relationship with him a few days before the killing.
Ruttan argued her client’s claim he had no memory of the killing was not contradicted by the Crown.
Ruttan said that testimony established that Randall was incapable of forming the intent to kill or cause Walker serious bodily harm, and he, therefore, couldn’t be convicted of murder.
Ruttan also noted the series of text messages Randall sent to Walker leading up to the deadly encounter finished with a request from him to take care of his cat.
“That is inconsistent with the inference Mr. Randall intended to cause Ms. Walker’s death,” the lawyer said in final submissions last week.
Before sentencing Randall, Wilson addressed the killer.
“What you did has caused tremendous pain and anguish,” the Court of Queen’s Bench judge said.
“You have left a hole in the lives of so many people.”
I’m so sorry that this happened, because I never wanted anything but joy and happiness for Brenda … she will continue to live in my heart forever.