Close X
Sunday, November 10, 2024
ADVT 
National

Shane Gyoba On Trial For Death Of Uncle Who Had Multiple Head Injuries: Pathologist

The Canadian Press, 14 Aug, 2015 12:53 PM
  • Shane Gyoba On Trial For Death Of Uncle Who Had Multiple Head Injuries: Pathologist
KAMLOOPS, B.C. — The fractured skull of a man allegedly beaten to death by his nephew resembled a jigsaw puzzle and his mouth was stuffed with dirt, a pathologist has testified.
 
Shane Gyoba, 29, has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the June 2014 death of his uncle, Ed Gyoba.  
 
B.C. Supreme Court has heard a witness saw Shane Gyoba beating his uncle with a shovel following a fist fight in the front yard of a home in Ashcroft.
 
Dr. James Stephen said he performed an autopsy that showed Gyoba died as a result of massive head injuries.
 
Stephen found five bone fragments and multiple fracture lines on the right side of Gyoba’s skull.
 
“I found 10 or more pieces of this jigsaw-like skull fracture,” he said.
 
“There are multiple fractures at the base of the skull and multiple fractures on the upper part of the globe on the skull.”
 
Stephen said he found eight areas of injury on Gyoba’s body, likely the result of more than six blows, likely with a shovel or perhaps a shovel and an axe or a pipe.
 
He said Gyoba’s mouth had been filled with dirt prior to his death.
 
“I believe there is good evidence he was alive when the dirt was put in his mouth," he said.
 
“He swallowed some of the dirt. Dirt was found in his esophagus. He breathed some of the dirt. Dirt was found in his airways.”
 
Stephen said he believed Gyoba was likely unconscious when he ingested the dirt.
 
Gyoba’s widow has told court that Shane Gyoba’s arrival in Ashcroft 15 years ago turned her life upside down.
 
Barb Gyoba said Shane Gyoba’s father died before he was a teenager and that when he was 14, he moved from Saskatoon to live with the couple.
 
Gyoba said the accused had been in trouble with the law in Saskatoon and was on probation when he came to Ashcroft.
 
At that point in her testimony, Shane Gyoba interrupted his aunt, saying, “Don’t confuse me and Ed. Don’t confuse myself as your son.”
 
Each time she was interrupted, despite a request from Justice Dev Dley to "remain quiet," Barb Gyoba held her hand up to block her nephew from her view.
 
Gyoba described her nephew as a happy kid who changed in high school, becoming "the boss of the school" and that a teacher let him teach a class.
 
Barb Gyoba said his aggressive personality took a toll on her, eventually leading to a nervous breakdown before she moved out of the house.
 
“It was nerve wracking because my husband protected me from him."
 
Ed Gyoba remained in the house with the accused and the pair spent a lot of time in a shop on the property, she testified.
 
“They would sit on either side of a wood stove in reclining chairs and Shane would talk and Eddy would listen — for hours, days."
 
Court heard that weeks before he was killed, Ed Gyoba became fed up with Shane Gyoba.
 
“Eddy came over and he had a hammer out and he said, ‘This is it, he’s got to get out,’” Barb Gyoba said.
 
“Shane said, ‘It’s my house. Why would I move out?’ But, Ed owned the house.”
 
Gyoba said she and her husband had agreed to meet for lunch on June 2, 2014 but that when she got to the house, she saw crime-scene tape.
 
“The sergeant came over, he saw me there, and he said, ‘We talked about this, didn’t we?’
 
“We did talk about it, a year ago, about Shane doing something,” she said. (Kamloops This Week)

MORE National ARTICLES

Sask. Gov Wraps Up Public Consultations On Farmland Ownership Restrictions

Sask. Gov Wraps Up Public Consultations On Farmland Ownership Restrictions
Saskatchewan's agriculture minister says almost all options are on the table as the government considers the future of farmland ownership restrictions in the province.

Sask. Gov Wraps Up Public Consultations On Farmland Ownership Restrictions

Man Who Found Knife Blade In Back Three Years After Stabbing Files Lawsuit

Man Who Found Knife Blade In Back Three Years After Stabbing Files Lawsuit
YELLOWKNIFE — A man from the Northwest Territories has filed a lawsuit against health officials claiming they failed to find a knife blade buried in his back for three years.

Man Who Found Knife Blade In Back Three Years After Stabbing Files Lawsuit

Judge allows sailors charged in sex assault to return to U.K. until trial

Judge allows sailors charged in sex assault to return to U.K. until trial
HALIFAX — A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge has ruled three British sailors charged with a sexual assault in Halifax can return to the United Kingdom while on bail.

Judge allows sailors charged in sex assault to return to U.K. until trial

NDP wastes little time connecting return of Duffy trial to campaign trail

NDP wastes little time connecting return of Duffy trial to campaign trail
OTTAWA — The NDP wasted little time Wednesday in using the return of Mike Duffy as political leverage against the Conservatives, while Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau seemed to want to wash his hands of it.

NDP wastes little time connecting return of Duffy trial to campaign trail

Dozens Drop Out Of 'biased' Energy Board Review Of Trans Mountain Pipeline

Dozens Drop Out Of 'biased' Energy Board Review Of Trans Mountain Pipeline
Dozens of participants have dropped out of the controversial National Energy Board review of Kinder Morgan's proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, saying they can no longer support a "biased" and "unfair" process.

Dozens Drop Out Of 'biased' Energy Board Review Of Trans Mountain Pipeline

Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Abuse At Ontario Schools For The Deaf

Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Abuse At Ontario Schools For The Deaf
A Toronto man alleges he was abused for years at Ontario schools for the deaf and has launched a class action lawsuit on behalf of other former students against the provincial government.

Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Abuse At Ontario Schools For The Deaf