James Rajbhandari appeals murder conviction

James Rajbhandari is appealing his second-degree murder conviction writing the verdict was "unreasonable" after a witness' story changed, according to court documents filed by his lawyer.

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A panel of 12 men and women deliberated for nine hours before arriving at a guilty verdict in February.

Rajbhandari was convicted in the 2012 stabbing death of Calgary father-of-four Wyatt Lewis after a party at an apartment building on 16th Avenue N.W.

Rajbhandari's appeal documents state "the verdict as rendered by the jury was unreasonable."

The appeal hinges on the credibility of a key Crown witness.

"That the learned trial judge erred in her legal analysis regarding the proper use and admissibility of prior utterances by Maniraj Sunwar," the documents states.

Rajbhandari's lawyer Alain Hepner argued the evidence didn't support a conviction in his closing submissions before the verdict.

"At the end of the day, you cannot have anything but a reasonable doubt," said Hepner, making his case for an acquittal.

Rajbhandari was sentenced to life in prison withoutparole for at least 10 years.

• James Rajbhandari found guilty of 2nd-degree murder
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