Man found guilty of second-degree murder of city woman

Medicine Hat, AB – Noah Bentley was found guilty of the second-degree murder in the Nov. 12, 2016 stabbing and strangulation death of Brenda Woloski following the conclusion of his trial Friday at Medicine Hat Court of Queen`s Bench.

In an agreed statement of facts accepted by the court during the opening of the trial last week, Bentley admitted to killing Woloski by stabbing her multiple times after a failed attempt at strangling her. The two had met earlier that evening at the Assiniboia Hotel and went to a home on the corner of Third Street and Maple Avenue where the murder took place.

However, Bentley`s defence was that he was not criminally responsible for the homicide, a defence Justice Glen Poelman roundly dismissed during his decision.

Poelman said he has “serious concerns” about the conclusion of the defence expert psychologist and noted the short time he had to evaluate Bentley compared to the Crown`s expert psychiatrist whose team had monitored the man over nearly six weeks.

The justice also highlighted that despite the defence expert testifying Bentley was in a disassociated state while committing the crime, he recalled details of the murder immediately after the death, during a subsequent police interview as well as with both the Crown and defence experts.

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Poelman said Bentley, “had the capacity to understand what he was doing,” in committing the unwarranted display of violence against Woloski.

The justice dismissed Bentley`s secondary defence of provocation out of hand, calling it an insult to the legal defence outlined in the Criminal Code.

A forensic assessment has been ordered for Bentley with his sentencing hearing expected to be heard sometime in the new year.

Second-degree murder carries a minimum of 10 years in jail without eligibility for parole and a maximum of life in prison.