By Canadian Press

Jury finds escaped inmate guilty of the first-degree murder of a B.C. man

Dec 14, 2022 | 7:04 PM

VANCOUVER — The British Columbia Supreme Court jury in the trial of an escaped inmate accused of first-degree murder has found James Lee Busch guiltyin the death of a Vancouver Island man.

However, what the jury didn’t know was that his co-accused, Zachary Armitage, had already pleaded guilty midway through the trial to the first-degree murder of 60-year-old Martin Payne. 

As Justice David Crossin was thanking jury members for their work, Busch flipped his middle finger at the judge. 

Payne was killed on July 8, 2019, a day after Busch and Armitage walked away from William Head Institution, located just eight kilometres from the victim’s home in Metchosin on southern Vancouver Island. 

The trial began Nov. 14 with both men pleading not guilty to first-degree murder, but two weeks later, Armitage entered a guilty plea without the jury present. 

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Both Crown and defence attorneys agreed in their closing arguments that the evidence pointed to Armitage being guilty of the murder, but they disagreed on Busch’s role in the killing. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 14, 2022. 

The Canadian Press