'This puzzle has too many missing pieces to reveal a reliable picture,' lawyer claims
A Calgary jury has found two men guilty of second-degree murder and armed robbery in the fatal roadside shooting of a municipal worker who stopped to assist at an apparent vehicle emergency. CBC reported the verdict came after roughly 24 hours of deliberations following a trial that heard more than three weeks of evidence.
Elijah Strawberry, 29, and Arthur Penner, 36, were convicted in the Aug. 2024 killing of Colin Hough, a 45-year-old Rocky View County employee. Another worker, FortisAlberta surveyor Matthew Andres, was also shot in the incident but survived.
Charges of attempted murder tied to Andres’s shooting were withdrawn mid-trial, with the judge instructing jurors not to speculate on the reasons, CBC reported. Both men remain in custody and now face mandatory life sentences.
Sequence of events on rural worksite
Court heard Andres was working alone on a rural road east of Calgary when a truck with a flat tire pulled over nearby. A masked individual approached and shot him in the arm before demanding his keys.
Andres testified he complied, telling the assailant, “Take it,” and later said he believed “he was going to die,” according to CBC. His work vehicle was then driven into a ditch after being taken.
The abandoned truck that first stopped had been set on fire, producing smoke that drew Hough to the scene while he was on duty. CBC reported that two figures approached Hough’s truck and fired multiple shots, killing him before fleeing in his vehicle.
Forensic evidence key to Crown’s case
The Crown relied heavily on forensic evidence linking both accused to the scene and the vehicles involved. At trial, jurors heard from an RCMP biology expert who detailed DNA findings from multiple exhibits connected to the incident.
DNA was recovered from Hough’s stolen county truck and from items found inside Andres’s FortisAlberta vehicle that did not belong to him. Those items included a face mask, a cellphone and a blue shoe.
In testimony cited in prior reporting, prosecutor Photini Papadatou told the court: “The phone was associated to Mr. Penner … The blue shoe had DNA attributed both to Mr. Strawberry and Mr. Penner.” The Crown argued the evidence supported the presence of both men at the scene.
Evidence disputed, safety concerns highlighted
Defence counsel argued the case lacked direct identification of the shooters. Penner’s lawyer told jurors, “No one is able to tell you who did it in this case … this puzzle has too many missing pieces to reveal a reliable picture.”
Despite those arguments, jurors concluded the circumstantial and forensic evidence established joint responsibility. CBC reported the Crown characterized the incident as involving “two shooters, two guns, two stolen vehicles, two robberies, one death.”
