Jury finds Eric Wildman guilty of 1st-degree murder in 2021 killing of rural Manitoba neighbour

A man accused of killing his neighbour in rural Manitoba more than three years ago has been found guilty of first-degree murder by a jury following a weeks-long trial.

Eric Wildman, 38, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the June 2021 death of 40-year-old Clifford Joseph. Joseph was reported missing that month, but his remains weren't found until over a month later.

Prosecutors alleged Wildman hit Joseph with his vehicle when he caught the victim trying to steal from his property on or around June 7, 2021, in the village of Stead, Man., about 80 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, then took the injured man to another location where he executed him.

When Joseph's remains were finally found after a lengthy search, he had a broken leg and jaw. But prosecutors have said what killed him were three gunshots, including one to the back of the head.

Wildman didn't react as the verdict was delivered in a Winnipeg courtroom. Some of Joseph's relatives sitting in the public gallery could be heard crying.

"Mr. Wildman, you have been convicted of first-degree murder. As a result, you are to be sentenced to life imprisonment," Manitoba Court of King's Bench Justice Richard Saull told Wildman.

The conviction carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years. A sentencing hearing, with a chance for family to read victim impact statements, will be held at a later date.

During closing arguments, Martin Glazer, one of Wildman's lawyers, had argued his client was wrongfully accused as part of an "absurd" theory prosecutors came up with based on a police investigation Glazer said was defined by tunnel vision.

Glazer told jurors there was no evidence Wildman ever even met the man he's accused of killing. He said the Crown's theory — that Wildman "suddenly becomes a cold-blooded murderer" who killed Joseph when the victim tried to steal what Glazer called "maybe a $50" trailer winch from his property — doesn't make any sense.

But Crown attorney Bryton Moen told jurors the timing in the case was of paramount importance — from how Wildman changed the hood on his damaged vehicle shortly after prosecutors say Joseph was hit by a vehicle then killed, to how Wildman left the province when police told him they were going to arrest him for murder.

On Wednesday morning, Saull gave jurors their instructions in the trial, which started last month and ended with closing arguments on Monday.

Glazer says they will be appealing the jury's verdict.

"It's not the verdict we wanted, obviously," he told CBC News on Thursday evening.

Once Wildman is officially sentenced the appeal process can begin, and a notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of sentencing.