Musila first-degree murder sentencing scheduled for fall

ST. ALBERT - The sentencing for Beryl Musila, who was found guilty in June of killing a St. Albert senior, has been scheduled for September in a long-delayed court case.

In July, Musila was granted an application to postpone her sentencing, after she hired her seventh lawyer in the case. On Friday morning, Musila's sentencing was rescheduled to Sept. 25-26. 

Musila, who was found guilty in June in the 2017 death of 75-year-old St. Albert senior Ron Worsfold, has had years of delays in her case. During her nine-week trial, Musila represented herself after firing her lawyer just days before the case was slated to start.

In July, Musila was slated to be sentenced for the crime. However, a new defence lawyer Musila obtained through legal aid, Caitlin Dick, was brought into the case and needed more time to properly represent Musila through her sentencing.

Dick argued Musila, who represented herself through her entire trial, needed representation in the sentencing. She said there were a number of issues that needed to be navigated, including a Charter issue where Musila was not given a bail hearing within the allowable 24-hour window. Dick also argued the facts coming into her sentencing could affect any future parole decisions.

Musila pleaded guilty to indignity to human remains at the outset of the trial, and Dick said there are questions on how the court proceeds with that charge.  

Justice Larry Ackerl eventually agreed to delay the case, though he warned Musila sentencing would move forward in September, whether she had a lawyer or not.

"I do so with considerable disappointment and reluctance," Ackerl told the court.

“I expect those emotions are felt even more keenly by some of those persons present,” he said to Worsfold’s family and friends in the court. Worsfold’s granddaughter, Shawna-Marie Flett travelled from British Columbia for the sentencing, only to see it delayed.

Since Worsfold’s death in 2017, the trial has been delayed a number of times, as Musila fired six lawyers throughout the process. She faced a preliminary inquiry in March and April 2018, after which the judge ordered her to stand trial.

Musila was originally scheduled to stand trial for the murder on April 14, 2020; however, the trial was delayed until fall 2021 and again until October 2022.

Outside the court Worsfold’s daughter, Stacey Worsfold said the delay just continues the grief process for the family.

“We've been in prison for six years along with her because you are not allowed to complete your grieving. Doing the trial six years later just puts you back into grieving,” Stacey Worsfold said.

“At some point we have to be allowed to complete our grieving and this charade of continual delays is just bullshit.”

Musila faces an automatic sentence of life in prison for the first-degree murder of Worsfold, with no chance of parole for 25 years.