Alberta’s highest court has reversed the first-degree murder conviction of a man who was found guilty in a deadly shooting incident in 2020 south of Edmonton. Kardon Demetroff was apprehended on May 4, 2020, in connection with the death of Larry Parker, a 74-year-old landlord whose body was discovered on a rural road just outside Maskwacis, Alta., on the morning of April 12, 2020.
Following a trial in 2022, a jury convicted Demetroff of first-degree murder, while a female co-accused was convicted of manslaughter. Despite the automatic life sentence without parole eligibility for 25 years that comes with first-degree murder, the Court of Appeal of Alberta has mandated a new trial for Demetroff. A three-judge panel determined that the trial judge had made instructional errors affecting various aspects scrutinized by the jury.
The Court of Appeal judges highlighted discrepancies in how the jury was instructed to evaluate Demetroff’s statements to the police, particularly his denial of being the shooter. Both he and his co-accused pointed fingers at each other. The decision emphasized the importance of clarifying to the jurors that disbelief in the appellant’s exculpatory remarks could still leave room for reasonable doubt about his culpability.
Demetroff is slated to appear in court in Wetaskiwin, Alta., on Nov. 25 to initiate proceedings for a new trial. During the 2022 trial, it was revealed that Parker’s body was found shortly after he had responded to a noise complaint from one of his tenants at a Wetaskiwin property. Subsequent interactions with the occupants led Parker to encounter Demetroff and the woman implicated in the case.
The Court of Appeal ruling disclosed that Demetroff informed Parker he was armed and instructed him to exit the vehicle, but when Parker did not comply and remained in the car, Demetroff fired a shot towards the vehicle as it drove away, claiming it did not strike the victim. Parker’s abandoned SUV was discovered approximately six kilometers from where his body was located, which was around 20 kilometers from the initial residence where he was summoned.
The prosecution contended that the incident could be deemed first-degree murder due to Parker’s alleged confinement in the vehicle and Demetroff’s purported role as the primary shooter or provider of the firearm. Additionally, the appeal decision identified deficiencies in jury instructions concerning Demetroff’s post-offense actions and a lack of analysis on the admissibility of evidence related to previous misconduct and criminal history, which impeded the jury’s ability to fulfill its duties effectively.