KAMLOOPS, B.C. — A Kamloops, B.C., man has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend more than a decade ago.
Forty-two-year-old Robert Balbar beat Heather Hamill to death with a hammer during an altercation in his apartment in July 2003.
The body of the 31-year-old mother of three was found floating in the North Thompson River on Aug. 1 that year.
The jury returned with a verdict after 19 hours of deliberations.
During the trial, Balbar claimed he was acting in self-defence when Hamill threatened him and his son with a machete.
But during an RCMP undercover operation in 2007, he told a supposed crime boss that he beat Hamill to death because she was going to tell police he hit her. (Kamloops This Week)
