B.C. murder suspect evidence at trial ‘not credible’ or ‘logical,’ Crown lawyer says

KAMLOOPS — A prosecutor in the trial of the man accused of killing Tatjana Stefanski more than two years ago says in her closing arguments that the only reasonable conclusion is that the man “murdered his ex-wife by stabbing her to death.”

Laura Drake told the B.C. Supreme Court jury in Kamloops that Vitali Stefanski’s evidence at trial “cannot and should not raise reasonable doubt,” calling it self-serving and inconsistent with common sense, logic or the physical evidence presented during the trial.

Stefanski pleaded not guilty last month to second-degree murder in the death of his ex-wife, whose body was found with numerous stab wounds off a rural forest road near Lumby, B.C., in 2024.

He testified earlier this month that Tatjana Stefanski had stabbed herself in his car, and he denied dumping her body, instead saying she slipped from his grasp by the road.

He also rejected earlier testimony from two Mounties who said he had confessed to killing his ex-wife when he emerged shoeless from the forest while officers were following a tow truck pulling Stefanski’s bloodstained car.

Tatjana Stefanski’s body was found several kilometres away later that day.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2026.

The Canadian Press