Crown says B.C. man’s mental illness led to shovel attack that killed uncle

KAMLOOPS, B.C. – The Crown has asked a British Columbia judge to declare a man not criminally responsible because of a mental disorder if he is convicted of beating his uncle to death with a shovel.

Shane Gyoba, 30, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Ed Gyoba on June 2, 2014.

The trial resumed Friday after a 10-month delay. Prosecutor Neil Flanagan said during closing arguments that Gyoba was in the midst of a psychiatric episode when he attacked his uncle.

“Mr. Gyoba is guilty of murder,” he told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Dev Dley. “There is no reason to find that Mr. Gyoba did not know that striking him in the head three times, three very strong blows, would cause the death of his uncle. There was clear intention to cause the death of Ed Gyoba.”

Flanagan said he will apply for a not criminally responsible designation if Gyoba is found guilty.

Last August, after near-constant outbursts in his week-long trial, Gyoba’s hearing was halted so he could undergo a psychiatric evaluation. He was found fit to stand trial.

Flanagan said the Crown’s theory is that Gyoba was angry after learning that he was being kicked out of his aunt and uncle’s home in Ashcroft.

Court has heard police were called to the home at about 9:30 a.m. on the day Ed Gyoba was killed.

A neighbour testified last summer that the drama began to unfold nearly an hour earlier. Gil Anderson said he went outside for a cigarette and heard a shouting match.

Anderson said he walked around the side of his house to the driveway and saw, through bushes, two men in the front yard of the Gyoba home where a person who was being pursued fell down.

Anderson said he then saw someone pick something up from the ground and start swinging.

“I could see the long handle and I wasn’t quite sure until I heard the shovel, the first strike,” he said, adding the victim was hit two more times.

Flanagan said Gyoba stuffed his uncle’s mouth with dirt after his death.

Defence lawyer Don Campbell’s argument was brief.

“I have very clear instructions from my client,” he said. “That is not to pursue a psychiatric defence.”

He said Gyoba has previously refused to take medication and opposed a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

“He is fit,” Campbell said. “He himself is not putting his psychiatric state at issue and I am therefore barred from doing that.”

Gyoba frequently interrupted lawyers on Friday with outbursts from the prisoner’s box. Lawyers often had to raise their voices to speak over his ranting.

If Gyoba is found not criminally responsible, he will be sent to a secure psychiatric facility in the Vancouver area for medical treatment.

Dley is expected to deliver his decision next Thursday. (Kamloops This Week)