One of two accused in 2018 Williams Lake murder pleads guilty to manslaughter

Photo: Castanet Staff

One of two men charged with first degree murder in connection with the 2018 death of a Williams Lake man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Daine Victor Stump pleaded guilty in B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops on Monday, the first day of what was expected to be a month-long trial for him and co-accused Wyatt Boffa.

Stump, who is from the Williams Lake area, was 21 years old when he was charged with first degree murder in relation to the death of Jamie Sellars Baldwin.

Police responded to the death on the night of Dec. 11, 2018.

Defence lawyer Simon Buck told Justice Alison Beames that Stump would plead guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter in connection with Baldwin’s death.

Beames asked Stump to verify that he read and understood an agreed statement of facts in respect to the matter.

“You understand that if you enter a guilty plea to the offence that Mr. Buck has spoken about, and that’s the charge of manslaughter, then you’re giving up your right to have a trial in this matter,” Beames said.

“Yes,” Stump replied.

The judge asked Stump to confirm that he was voluntarily entering the plea and that he wasn’t coerced in any way.

Beames said the court would accept the guilty plea for manslaughter, finding Stump not guilty of first degree murder.

Stump will appear in B.C. Supreme Court again on Oct. 27 for sentencing.

The trial got underway on Monday afternoon for Boffa, who remains charged with first degree murder.

George Kalogerakos was the first witness called by Crown prosecutor David Sim.

Kalogerakos said he had known Baldwin for more than a dozen years and, on Dec. 11, 2018, he planned to spend time working on a truck that was parked at Baldwin’s home.

He said he arrived at Baldwin’s residence on Mountain House Road in Williams Lake at about 7 p.m., and had been working on the truck for about an hour when a vehicle pulled up to the home with three people inside, including Stump and Boffa.

The group eventually went inside Baldwin’s home and talked while a few people — including Kalogerakos and Baldwin — smoked crystal meth.

Kalogerakos said he remembers Baldwin speaking with Boffa. While he said he didn’t hear every word, he remembered Boffa sounding confrontational.

“[Baldwin] seemed uneasy about the way things were going, pretty anxious, a couple of times he tried to deflect the conversation away, pointing to a picture of his children on the wall,” he said.

The trial will resume on Tuesday, with Sim expected to call on a number of witnesses over the next several weeks.