Vernon murder trial moved to Kamloops as lack of facilities deemed unfair to accused

A Lumby man accused of murdering his ex-wife has had his trial moved to Kamloops after a BC judge ruled that keeping him at the Vernon RCMP detachment cells during the proceedings wouldn’t give him adequate access to his lawyer.

BC Supreme Court Justice Bradford Smith agreed with defence lawyer Tony Lagemaat that accused murderer Vitali Stefanski would need daily access to a hard drive which wouldn’t be possible if Stefanski was being held in police cells.

“It is beyond dispute that justice should be seen to be done in the community, however, not at the cost of trial fairness,” Justice Smith said at the Vernon courthouse Nov. 26.

Stefanski was charged in April 2024 with the second-degree murder of his ex-wife Tatjana Stefanski.

The case garnered widespread media attention after it emerged that Vitali had been released from custody by police shortly before Tatjana was killed.

The case was scheduled for a three-week voir dire, a sort of trial within a trial, followed by a five-week trial by jury to be held in Vernon in May.

However, Lagemaat argued the logistics of having the lengthy court proceedings in Vernon weren’t fair to Vitali.

The defence lawyer said that Vitali would need daily consultations with his lawyer and the ability to see his laptop. As Vitali would be held at the Vernon RCMP detachment’s cells after daily court appearances, that wouldn’t be possible.

If the trial took place in Kamloops, Vitali would be held at the correctional centre, which had facilities for lawyers to meet with their clients.

Crown prosecutor Matt Blow argued the trial should be held in Vernon, conforming to the long-standing principle that court cases take place in the location of the alleged crime. Blow said that witnesses would have to travel significantly further if the trial were to take place in Kamloops.

The Justice said it was a “balancing act” after lawyers argued their cases for a couple of hours.

“Weighing the various considerations on balance, I find that trial fairness requires that Mr. Stefanski have access to his hard drive,” the Justice said. “He will not have access in Vernon, where he would spend the majority of his time during the course of the trial in the RCMP detachment… that, for me, is the overriding factor in this case.”

While the vast majority of pre-trial court appearances are covered under a blanket publication ban, Justice Smith lifted the ban for this proceeding, allowing this story to be published.

The beginning of Vitali’s court proceedings will now start in April 2026 at the Kamloops courthouse.