Accused North Okanagan murderer Vitali Stefanski took the stand Tuesday morning as his B.C. Supreme Court trial transitioned to evidence from his defence, which gave jurors a different account of the events surrounding his ex-wife’s death that transpired two years ago.
Specifically, Vitali claimed ex-wife Tatjana Stefanski had his knife on her while in his car at the top of her driveway just outside Lumby on April 13, 2024, and further claimed she cut herself with it, whether purposefully or by accident his testimony was unclear.
Jurors then heard from Vitali that after looking for a hospital that doesn’t exist in Lumby, he drove down Mabel Lake Road, where an unresponsive Tatjana then “slipped” out of the vehicle and down an embankment on her own accord, to her final resting place.
Vitali is accused of murdering Tatjana and pleaded not guilty to a second-degree murder charge at the beginning of the estimated five-week trial.
With the Crown resting its case on Monday, the defence began to reveal its theory of events June 9. First, defence lawyer Tony Lagemaat offered a reminder to the jury that Vitali is innocent until proven guilty, and the burden of proof rests entirely with the Crown.
“We ask only that you keep an open mind, continue to assess the evidence fairly and impartially, and reserve judgement until you have heard all of the evidence and the court’s final instructions,” Lagemat said in Kamloops court.
From there, Lagemaat called Vitali to the stand and asked him for his version of the events previously discussed by the Crown.
Throughout Day 10 of the trial Tuesday, Vitali spoke quickly and at times unbidden, interrupting his own counsel during points of direct examination. Justice Bradford Smith at times asked Vitali, who is of German descent, if he needed an interpreter in order to understand questions and respond in English. Vitali declined all such invitations.
Vitali was shown video evidence of his black Audi at the top of the Lumby driveway where Tatjana and their two kids lived, along with Tatjana’s partner, Jason Gaudreault. Vitali confirmed it was himself driving the Audi, that he had met with his then nine-year-old son and gave him a suitcase full of belongings, and that the video later showed Tatjana getting into the car with him.
The court previously heard evidence that Tatjana had suffered 21 sharp-force wounds including seven stab wounds to her chest and ribs that inflicted fatal damage to her heart and lungs. Jurors had been told that her body was found down a steep embankment about six kilometres from where Vitali’s Audi was located at the 25-kilometre mark of Mabel Lake Road, and the vehicle’s interior was covered in blood stains.
Vitali testified that Tatjana had a nosebleed from allergies when she entered his vehicle on the morning of April 13, adding she was looking “really not good.” He told the court he’d wanted to take her to the RCMP, because of four months of “harassment” and “fabricating” — not from Tatjana, he later insisted, but from Gaudreault.
Vitali was shown a picture of a body down the embankment and identified it as Tatjana’s.
Lagemaat then went back in time and asked Vitali what happened when he and Tatjana were in his vehicle.
Vitali said she looked as if she was “under pressure,” and then said he realized she was holding what looked to be his knife.
She then started “pulling” and “twisting” around in the passenger’s seat, which was reclined as Vitali said he had slept in it the night before. He later admitted to having no apartment or job at the time on April 13.
He said she was sitting “on the top” of the reclined passenger’s seat when he “saw how her left leg started bleeding … I just remember there was a lot of blood.”
At this point the car was still parked at the top of the driveway. Then, Vitali said he started driving towards Lumby.
He said at the time he wasn’t sure if there was a hospital in Lumby but was “pretty sure” that there was. He said he turned left at the only four-way stop in Lumby and continued down the road, but did not find a hospital.
So he drove on down Mabel Lake Road.
“I saw the knife was sticking out, the handle, and she was holding the blade with her hands,” Vitali said.
Vitali said he managed to take the knife from Tatjana and saw that it was bent close to 90 degrees. The court had previously heard that a bent knife had been located near Tatjana’s body.
Lagemaat asked the accused if at any point he’d inflicted wounds on Tatjana with the knife when he had it. Vitali said he had not.
Lagemaat then asked how Tatjana wound up down the embankment, where Vitali himself had just identified her body.
“I was feeling dizziness. My legs was feeling (week), I was suffering bad and I was kind of just without any action. I was just driving straight,” Vitali said.
Lagemaat repeated the question and Vitali said he eventually stopped the car once the road went from asphalt to gravel with bumps and potholes. Vitali said he got out of the car and opened the rear driver’s side door, where the road was narrow and he was standing very close to the embankment.
Tatjana was laying with her head close to that door of the car. He was saying her name and she was not responding, he said.
“I just wanted to see some sign that she is alive,” Vitali said.
Though he described her as unresponsive at this point, Vitali said Tatjana then “kind of automatically came out” of the vehicle. He said he tried to put her back in the car but she “just slipped out” and started “rolling down” the embankment.
“I understood that in that moment, no one could believe me and what was happening,” Vitali said.
He then added he started throwing things out of the car, including a fishing magazine, Tatjana’s cell phone and the bent knife.
“I was really panicked,” he said.
Vitali was then asked about the voice message he’d left with his daughter at 7:57 a.m. April 13 and claimed that the previous translation offered to the court (“That’s it, my dear, dad is leaving”) was incorrect, and he had actually said, “Okay, my dear, dad is moving.”
Later in direct examination, Vitali recounted his version of what he said to police officers who found him on Mabel Lake Road as they were having his Audi towed back to the Lumby detachment in the early morning hours of April 14.
Const. Nicholas Prystupa and Const. Neil Horne had previously told the court that they had heard Vitali admit to the murder after he emerged shoeless and dishevelled from the forested area along the road.
Vitali said Const. Prystupa had rolled down his passenger side window upon pulling up to Vitali, who claimed he told the officer to call “an emergency car” before saying he’d tried to kill himself. He said he also told the officer that he was Vitali Stefanski and it was his car they were towing.
Vitali recounted taking a knife he had on him and placing it on the ground in front of the police officers. He said he then pointed towards Lumby and said his “ex-wife is there,” adding he told them he wasn’t sure if she was dead or not.
“Did you at any time inflict knife injuries on Tatjana?” Lagemaat asked, to which Vitali said he did not.
Cross-examination
The Crown asked Vitali a number of questions following the defence’s direct examination.
The Crown asked if he and Tatjana had a will designating what would happen if either of them died. He said they did not.
“Did you and Tatjana ever discuss where your children would live if both of you died?” the Crown asked.
“Never,” was Vitali’s reply.
Vitali then confirmed that as of April 1, 2024, he was sleeping in his car as he had given up his Kelowna apartment.
The Crown asked Vitali if he and Tatjana were not friends around this time. Vitali said they understood each other.
Vitali agreed that Tatjana, “was the reason,” that their marriage ended in 2021.
He said he felt “neutral” towards Tatjana’s partner, Gaudreault, even though Gaudreault had texted him to say that Vitali was to talk to him when arranging to see the kids.
Cross-examination of Vitali Stefanski will continue Tuesday afternoon.