VANCOUVER, BC – Joshua Boden, a former BC Lions football player, lost his bid for a new trial after being convicted of the second-degree murder of his ex-girlfriend, Kimberly Lynn Hallgarth, at her Burnaby home in 2009. The B.C. Court of Appeal denied his request for a new trial, upholding his life sentence with no chance of parole.
Boden’s conviction came after a judge-alone trial where Justice Barry Davies found him guilty in November 2021. The court heard that Boden brutally assaulted Hallgarth, stomping on her neck and strangling her, blaming her for the end of his career as a wide receiver in the Canadian Football League.
The key witness in the case was Boden’s then-girlfriend, Heidi Nissen, who also worked for him in the sex trade. Nissen was present for the murder and identified Boden as the killer, though the defense vigorously challenged her credibility and reliability.
The defense argued that the trial judge should not have admitted evidence about Boden’s mistreatment of Nissen, claiming it was prejudicial. They also contended that the judge “misapprehended” evidence corroborating Nissen’s testimony.
However, the three-person court of appeal unanimously rejected Boden’s appeal, maintaining that the trial judge had not been prejudiced by the evidence and had interpreted it appropriately.
Ultimately, the court’s decision means that Boden will continue to serve his life sentence for the murder of Kimberly Lynn Hallgarth at her Burnaby home in 2009.