KAMLOOPS, B.C. — A B.C. Supreme Court jury in Kamloops needed barely five hours to reach its verdict in the case of a Terrace man charged with the murder of his teenaged girlfriend.
Twenty-four-year-old Damien Taylor has been convicted of the second degree murder of 16-year-old CJ Fowler.
During the more than two week trial, Taylor said he and Fowler had travelled to Kamloops from Terrace to sell drugs and had used considerable amounts of crystal meth in the week before the December 2012 murder.
The couple was seen arguing after leaving a hospital in Kamloops, where Fowler had been treated for chest pains related to drug use and had learned she was pregnant with Taylor's child.
Taylor testified he and Fowler went to a nearby park but he blacked out and then panicked and fled to Prince George after waking to find Fowler's beaten body beside him.
A second degree murder conviction carries a life sentence, but a date has not yet been set for a judge to determine Taylor's parole eligibility. (CFJC)