Lumby murder trial: Stefanski denies stabbing, can’t explain wounds

WARNING: this article contains content related to a domestic violence murder trial which may be distressing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know has been harmed by domestic violence (gender-based violence), contact Archway Society for Domestic Peace at 250-542-1122 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week). Vitali Stefanski appeared unable to explain the various stab wounds identified on his ex-wife’s body as his second-degree murder trial saw the end of a lengthy, contentious and often times scattered cross-examination

in B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops Wednesay, June 10. Throughout the Crown’s intense questioning, the 49-year-old North Okanagan man maintained that he was not the one who inflicted the seven stab wounds that were found to have killed 44-year-old Tatjana Stefanski, or any of the 14 other wounds found on her body, which was discovered down a steep embankment on a logging road near Lumby April 14, 2024. Vitali’s account of the day he and Tatjana were in his car on April 13 is that

she stabbed herself with his knife, which he claimed was in the back seat and which she had retrieved while sitting in the reclined passenger seat of his Audi without his noticing. He described a self-inflicted wound to her belly button area and another “accidental” self-inflicted wound. Crown prosecutor Laura Drake said the two wounds he described are a far cry from the 21 wounds Tatjana was found to have suffered, adding the wound to her belly button doesn’t align with other evidence, as photos

of her stomach area shown in court do not show any stab wounds there. On Tuesday, Vitali had testified that Tatjana had begun “twisting” in the passenger seat, and that’s when she suffered the accidental self-inflicted wound. Drake went through a series of photographs of the wounds Tatjana was found to have suffered, according to evidence given by a pathologist on Monday. The series of photos began with a photo of Tatjana’s middle finger, which Drake described as nearly severed and hanging off the tip.

“Only two people could have done that to her hand, Mr. Stefanski, you or her,” she said, having previously gotten Vitali to agree, through a laborious series of questions, that Tatjana did not have that injury prior to him pushing her into his car atop her driveway that April 13 morning. Vitali had previously claimed that after Tatjana had stabbed herself, he had driven to Lumby in search of a hospital. Lumby does not have a hospital, as the Crown pointed out, but Vitali kept

driving, through the village and down the remote Mabel Lake Road. At this point, he claimed he opened the rear passenger door and pulled out an unresponsive Tatjana, who then “slipped” and tumbled down the embankment. He said he panicked, and thought no one would believe what had happened. When Drake asked him Wednesday if he agreed that only he or herself could have nearly severed Tatjana’s finger, Vitali answered no. He said he believed the injury happened when she was sliding down the embankment.

“I think if she was sliding on the ground, she just took another injury,” Vitali said. Indeed, he attributed more than one of her injuries — including ones identifed by the pathologist as stab wounds — to her tumble down the embankment. “You caused these injuries to her hand, didn’t you?” the Crown prosecutor queried about her other hand, which had three wounds. “No,” Vitali said, instead suggesting it happened when she was holding his knife by its blade in his car as they were

driving. Drake showed Vitali an image of six wounds to Tatjana’s chest and had him agree that all were classified as stab wounds. A lengthy back and forth ensued during which Vitali mentioned the fact that the knife had been bent. When another photo was shown of another stab wound on the right side of Tatjana’s chest, which punctured her lung, the Crown pressed on. “Tatjana did not have this stab wound when she entered your car on April 13, 2024, right?” Drake asked. “I

don’t think she had that wound,” Vitali agreed. Again, Drake said only two people could have caused the stab wound: Tatjana or Vitali. The accused said he was “not sure about the injuries on her.” Drake said she wasn’t bleeding from her chest when she got in his car, to which he agreed. “Mr. Stefanski, you caused this stab wound,” she said. “No, it’s not correct,” was his reply. “I cannot explain what was happening. I just know that she was twisting … in the

back (of the car). I do not know anything about all of these wounds.” With that, the Crown had no further questions. Prior to that final exchange, the Crown had asked Vitali about his attempt to kill himself, which he said took place as little as an hour after Tatjana’s body went down the embankment. “It was very painful to stab yourself, right?” Drake said, having reviewed a photo of Vitali in hospital April 14 with a single, small incision on his abdomen. She had

him confirm he only attempted to stab himself once. He said he’d lost consciousness in the process of this suicide attempt. “It’s very difficult to stab yourself, isn’t it, Mr. Stefanski,” Drake pursued. “In a normal situation yes, in that situation maybe it was not,” Vitali answered. His account of what happened hinges on whether Tatjana stabbed herself to death. With the cross-examination of Vitali finished, the defence announced it would not call any further evidence and rested its case. The jury will return to

court on Monday morning for closing submissions.

Lumby murder trial, Vitali Stefanski, Tatjana Stefanski, B.C. Supreme Court, Kamloops, cross-examination, stab wounds, domestic violence