Jury sees graphic photos of victim in B.C. murder trial

The judge in the B.C. Supreme Court murder trial of Vitali Stefanski warned jury members to prepare for graphic evidence as they were shown photos of the body of his ex-wife, found off a forest road in 2024.

Justice Bradford Smith told the jury in the second-degree murder trial that the photos were to help them decide facts like the circumstances before and after Tatjana Stefanski died, but not to cause sympathy for the Crown’s case or prejudice against the accused.

The jury also heard testimony on Wednesday from RCMP forensic investigators who photographed evidence, including Cpl. Robert Riemer, who described having to use a rope tied to a tree stump to get down the steep embankment off the side of a road to reach Tatjana Stefanski’s body.

Crown lawyer Rigel Tessmann has previously told the court that a bent and bloodied knife near the body had the DNA of both Tatjana and Vitali Stefanski and that the victim suffered 21 “sharp force wounds” to her legs, arms and hands as well as seven stab wounds to her chest and ribs that injured her heart and lungs and led to her death.

Along with photos of Tatjana Stefanski’s body and the knife, the jury saw images of plastic and leather knife sheaths, a magazine and a black boot found at the scene. 

Details of the bent knife, which was engraved on the blade, were kept as “hold back” evidence, Riemer told the jury, meaning it was only known by a limited number of people involved in the investigation.

Officers testified that Vitali Stefanski appeared shoeless on the forest-service road on the day the body was found in April 2024 and confessed to murdering his ex-wife.

The defence has not presented its case to the jury yet.

Riemer also took photos of Vitali Stefanski at a hospital in Vernon, B.C., on the day the body was found, and he confirmed under cross-examination from defence lawyer Tony Lagemaat that he saw no injuries on the accused other than a small injury on his abdomen.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2026.

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