Accused on November 5th of 2018, former CFL football player, Joshua Boden, may be facing a hefty sentence and a lengthy wait for parole eligibility, states the Crown.
He was accused of killing his ex-girlfriend then staging the scene to make it look like an accident, reports CTV.
It was about ten years prior to the accusation that the crime had been committed. Kimberly Lynn Hallgarth was the victim’s name; her lifeless body was apparently found on her doorstep, at the base of the stairs, just inside the doorway. She was 33 when the murder occurred. She left behind a daughter named Hailey.
Boden, who played for the BC Lions in the CFL in 2007, was subsequently released by the team the next year. He was signed with the Hamilton Ti—Cats soon after but didn’t play any games on that roster.
According to the investigation, Boden blamed the victim, his ex-girlfriend, for the end of his career, stating that she had sabotaged him by sending photographs to the coach of the BC Lions back then, Wally Buono…the photographs were specifically of abuse she’d suffered at the hands of Boden and damage he had made to her car.
The crime in question occurred specifically in 2009. This of course was not his only brush with crime, as apparently in that same year, he also sexually assaulted 2 women at a Vancouver Sky Train station.
The Crown prosecutor said this week that the details of this murder are the most shocking they have ever seen, and they are quite graphic indeed.
Crown Counsel/prosecutor, Brendan McCabe, gave details of the case…
He said that after the victim was unconscious, Boden proceeded to throw some pills around her body to make it look like a suicide or something of the sort…but the manipulation of the body and the crime scene did not stop there.
Boden allegedly also placed some socks into her mouth as she lay dying at the base of the staircase. But the most gruesome instances came before he moved her to that location, when he stomped on her neck as she lay unconscious and removed her fingernails, even wiping her body with a towel.
McCabe said further:
“We don’t even know how Ms. Hallgarth ended up at the bottom of the stairs…”
The Crown states that a life sentence without the chance of parole before the 15 year amount of time has passed, would be appropriate under the circumstances.
Justice Arne Silverman presided over the case this week, and took testimony also from Vida Miller, who is the victim’s mother-in-law. She stated that Hallgarth’s daughter, who was 3 years old at the time of the crime, is now a teenager and is living with her, and not in BC.
She informed the court that her life is forever changed and she still isn’t okay from all of this.
The haunting words of the victim’s daughter resonated in the courtroom that day and since by way of recording according to the same, aforementioned source:
“He took the world from me…He took a piece of my life that I can never get back.”
The judge was obviously taken by the testimony, as he made the following statement at the end of the proceedings:
“I promise you that I’ll keep in mind what you read to me…I’ll never forget it,” which of course speak volumes.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled to occur on June 24th…then and only then will the verdict on the parole eligibility be given. We will keep you posted when that occurs, dear readers.
Boden for his part, has denied the allegations, sticking to his ‘not guilty’ plea…apparently he also appeared to be “without remorse” in the courtroom this week. As part of his defense, he has cited abuse in his own life as a child, as well as other complex issues that aren’t holding any water for anyone paying attention to this case.
It was on the day of the murder that 3-year-old Hailey got back to the home she shared with her mother with her nanny and when they tried to open the door they couldn’t, as her mother’s body was obstructing the door from opening any further, thus not allowing entry into the house…perhaps even in death, a mother’s way of shielding her little girl from the signs of torment and mutilation waiting just beyond that threshold…one last effort to protect her child…an effort she could not at all go through with because of what Boden had done to her.
