Katherine Quinn found not guilty of second degree murder
Posted May 31, 2010 5:21 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NEW WESTMINSTER (NEWS1130) – Katherine Quinn has been found not guilty of second degree murder in her re-trial for the killing of Matthew Martins at a Surrey SkyTrain station in 2005. The verdict led to a flood of tears from the family of the victim, who say they are devastated.
Sandra Martins sobbed and clung to her downcast supporters outside court. “Justice in Quinn’s part, for her role in the killing of my child, justice has not been done! The justice system has failed my child, and it will fail many more children!” Sandra Martins says she’ll continue to fight, but there is not much point in suing Quinn for damages.
In her ruling, the judge said she had doubts about the testimony of witnesses who claimed they heard Quinn urge her boyfriend to kill Martins. Quinn and her boyfriend Robert Forslund were convicted of second degree murder in 2007, and Forslund was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 17 years. But Quinn’s conviction was overturned by the B.C. Court of Appeal, which said the original trial judge made mistakes when instructing the jury.
During her second trial, the Crown claimed Quinn wanted revenge because Martins stabbed her as she was trying to steal a chain from around his neck. Quinn’s defence lawyer said the testimony of several witnesses couldn’t be trusted and the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt Forslund went back to attack Martins because of Quinn.
