Brandon man found guilty in 2019 murder

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This article was published 10/12/2021 (1422 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — A 65-year-old Brandon man has been convicted of killing his wife before their east-end house exploded in 2019.

The jury of 12 found Robert Hughes guilty of second-degree murder after nearly two weeks of trial at Brandon Court of Queens Bench.

Deliberations had begun at approximately 3:30 p.m. Thursday, and wrapped up just after 1 p.m. Friday.

Hughes stood silently, flanked by defence lawyers Saul Simmonds and Adam Hodge, as the jury foreperson read the verdict.

Several members of the audience could be heard crying once the verdict was announced.

Family of Betty Hughes, 63, declined to comment outside the courthouse.

Talking with media, Simmonds said Hughes was feeling “broken” and sorely disappointed.

“It is clear from his evidence that it was an extremely difficult process for him to go through and it’s going to take some time for him to process today’s decision,” the lawyer said.

Over six days of trial, the court heard from various witnesses, including city firefighters, police officers, neighbours, a DNA expert and a pathologist. Hughes testified in his own defence Dec. 7.

On Oct. 22, 2019, Brandon firefighters responded to the east-end property after reports of an explosion. When they arrived, the walls of the house were blown out; Manitoba Hydro crews had to turn off natural gas service to the home.

On the first day of the trial, Brandon Police Service Const. Travis Foster said Betty was found inside the destroyed house with a multitude of cuts and lying in a pool of blood.

Firefighters found an injured Hughes with a noose around his neck, the court heard. He was transported to Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, where he was later arrested by Brandon police Oct. 25.

Pathologist Dr. Dennis Rhee testified Betty had more than a dozen injuries, but the ultimate cause of death was blood loss from an 11.7-centimetre wound that extended from her eyebrow across her temple and into her ear.

He estimated Betty would have died of blood loss minutes after the cut.

In his testimony, Hughes alleged there was a prolonged struggle with his wife in the kitchen of the house, which he said was like “World War 3.”

He said Betty grabbed a knife at one point and he was trying to control her arms. Eventually, the two ended up on the kitchen floor and Betty was dead.

Hughes testified he then wanted to take his own life, so he tampered with a gas line in the basement with the intention to breathe it in and die. The gas filled the room, though, and exploded after catching on a pilot light.

Justice Scott Abel said he is required to impose the mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison, after Hughes was convicted of second-degree murder.

A sentencing hearing to determine how many years in prison Hughes will have to serve before he is eligible for parole will be held at a later date.

— Brandon Sun