Ex-husband guilty of murdering Tatjana Stefanski in B.C. Interior

Vitali Stefanski has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2024 death of his ex-wife, Tatjana Stefanski, in a killing that left a rural British Columbia village gripped by fear.

The unanimous jury verdict came Friday in a Kamloops, B.C., courtroom after closing arguments wrapped up Thursday. Tatjana's body was found with numerous stab wounds off a rural forest service road near the village of Lumby, B.C., in April 2024.

Vitali Stefanski had told the B.C. Supreme Court jury that his ex-wife stabbed herself in his car and that her death was "like a suicide." But the jury rejected that account. The court heard Tatjana was stabbed in the chest seven times, injuring her heart and lungs. She also suffered multiple "sharp-force injuries" to her arms and legs, and wounds to her hands that were consistent with "defensive-type" injuries, according to pathologist Dr. Eric Bol.

During the trial, police testified that Stefanski emerged shoeless from the forest and confessed to the killing before gesturing in the direction of the body. A bent and bloodied knife found nearby had the DNA of both Tatjana and Vitali Stefanski. Stefanski denied confessing and represented himself for his closing arguments, asking the jury to find him not guilty.

Stefanski, who had two children with his ex-wife, was arrested in the forest on April 14, 2024, the day after Tatjana was reported missing. He was later released on conditions, but more than a month later, on May 31, he was charged with murder and taken into custody again. The delay alarmed residents of Lumby, a community of about 2,000 people in the North Okanagan, who spoke of living in fear.

Stefanski faces a mandatory life sentence. The period before eligibility for parole, which must be a minimum of 10 years, has yet to be determined. Justice Bradford Smith asked the jury for recommendations on parole eligibility, which he will consider before handing down the sentence at a later date.