New trial ordered in 'brutal' 2012 death of Fribjon Bjornson in northern B.C.

A new trial has been ordered for one of the men convicted in thegrisly slaying of Fribjon Bjornson, a 28-year-old logger and father,near Fort St. James, B.C., in 2012.

James David Junior Charlie was convicted of first-degree murder by a jury in 2017.

Charliealso pleaded guilty to "offering indignities to a dead body or human remains."

Now, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia has ruled that the trial judge in Charlie's trial gave incorrect and incomplete information in response to a juror's question.

New trial

As a result, the Court of Appeal set aside the convictionand ruled a new trial is required.

"This conclusion is a burden ... particularly for the family and friends of Mr. Bjornson," wrote the Honourable Madam Justice Saunders in her reasons for judgment.

Saunders called the circumstances of Bjornson's death "brutal."

In the 2017 trial, the crown argued Charlie was one of several people who assaulted Bjornsonin the basement of a home "over a prolonged period of time."

The crown also contended Charlie provided a wire or a cord to another man, knowing it would be used to strangle Bjornson.

Finally, the Crown maintained Charlie helped move the victim's body to Stuart Lake, cover it with snow, and then move it to another location,where indignities were committed.

• Two other men in the case pleaded guilty to 2nd-degree murder

Their trial heard evidence that Bjornson's severed head was discovered in an empty house on the Nak'azdli Reserve, near Fort St. James.

The rest of his body has never been found.