Alberta judge alleges domestic violence in murder conviction

Justice Jim Eamon said Kirsten Gardner's horrific death highlighted the need to denounce and challenge domestic violence.

Gardner, a mother of twin boys, was strangled to death by her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Ross Arran McInnes, at her Bowden home on March 22, 2021.

On May 13, McInnes pleaded guilty at Calgary Crown Court to second-degree murder and was sentenced by Judge Eamon to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 15 years.

In an agreed statement of facts, McInnes admitted to beating Gardner severely before killing him.

Sentencing McInnes, Justice Eamon described Gardner's killing as a clear case of domestic violence.

“Domestic violence is something that should be strongly condemned,” Eamon said. “In this case, (Gardner's two children) lost something important to them. Its damage is very great.”

Addressing the defendant directly, the judge said: “Kirsten Gardner invited you into her home and allowed you into her home and the response of her generous spirit was to kill her.”

A suicide note written by McInnes was found in Gardner's home after her death. In the post, McInnes expresses anti-women views, including claims that the justice system treats men unfairly.

“The law is very unfair. He prefers women whether (if) the man is innocent or guilty. The legal system is stagnant and unfair, and it hurts many people,” the note said.

In response, Judge Eamon said: “To be honest, when I read the suicide note, it was clear how the accused treated people of the opposite sex. The legal system mentioned in this letter is (judicial) and favoring men, etc. The kinds of things that are said about, one, are very insulting to reasonable people.

“Secondly, such attitudes undermine the public trust and discredit the legal system.”

During the sentencing, Crown Prosecutor Ryan Ziegler said: “This was a brutal murder committed by Mr McInnes against a mother of two in a home he called himself. In the end, this court's verdict should represent a collective outcry from society, as well as the realization that women are still not safe in their own homes.”

There is a “strain of misogyny” that cuts through the suicide note, he said.

At the time of the murder, McInnes was under a court order requiring him to receive domestic violence notification counseling, he said.

Several family members of Gardner also read victim impact statements during the May 13 hearing, including Kirsten's mother, who said the loss has been devastating for her family.

“I have an unimaginable sadness that will never go away,” Christina Ramage said. “Life will never be the same and I will never be the same. Ross, I hope that you will never experience peace as you have chosen for our family to never have peace again.

“It is impossible to justify what you did to him. You are a coward and clearly have no remorse for your actions and there is no amount of jail time that will satisfy me.''

The Mountain View Emergency Shelter Society named the emergency shelter under construction on the Olds Kirsten site in honor of Gardner.