N. L. jury to decide fate of man who said he killed wife

ST. JOHN’S, N. L. ( CP) — A jury must now decide whether a man who admitted to killing his spouse and hiding her body in thick brush south of St. John’s, N. L., is guilty of second- degree murder or manslaughter.

There’s no doubt that Ann Marie Shirran died at the hands of David Folker in July 2010, Judge Wayne Dymond said Thursday in final instructions before jurors began deliberations.

The judge called it a “credibility case.” He said the key question is whether the Crown proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Folker killed Shirran on purpose.

Folker, 42, has pleaded not guilty to charges of seconddegree murder and interfering with a dead body.

Dymond of the province’s Supreme Court said Folker’s admissions during the often emotional four- week trial amount to a confession to the second charge.

He instructed the jury to focus on whether they unanimously agree that Folker intended to kill Shirran, as required for a seconddegree murder conviction. Otherwise, the judge said they can deliver a lesser verdict of manslaughter.

Late Thursday, the jury asked to review exhibits and hours of testimony. Deliberations were scheduled to resume today.

Folker maintained his innocence until he surprised even the judge by admitting as the trial began that Shirran, 32, died early on July 19, 2010, after he threw her to the floor during a fight. He said his actions took her life but he did not mean to kill her.

He also said he panicked at the thought that police would blame him and he’d lose custody of the couple’s then one- year- old son.

Many of Shirran’s loved ones wept in the public gallery as Folker told court how he drove her body to the woods near Cappahayden, as their baby son slept in his car seat, and left it there.

Folker testified that he dumped Shirran’s purse, cellphone and other items in another wooded area the next day then lied to police and Shirran’s family, saying she had stormed out after a fight and vanished.

He testified that he would have lied forever but Shirran’s remains were found by campers in September 2010.

Folker was arrested soon after.