Chris Lee, 63, also known as Kevin Barton, admitted to fatally choking Vida Smith on July 21, 2020, while the two were sitting in his car. Jurors had been deliberating since Thursday morning. Lee appeared relieved as the jury foreman read the verdict Friday night around 8 p.m. His defense attorney Corey Wilson called the verdict “the right decision.” “While we are very pleased with the outcome, this decision in no way diminishes the fact that this was a terrible tragedy and an unspeakable loss for Vida Smith’s family,” Wilson said outside court.
“Huge responsibility”
Lee will be allowed to remain on bail ahead of a sentencing hearing set for next week. Before they left the courtroom for the last time, Court of King’s Bench Justice Rosemary Nation thanked the jurors for their efforts over the past two weeks. “To judge our fellow man is a tremendous responsibility,” said the Nation Lee and Smith were successful card counters who, in their prime, won tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars playing blackjack. They traveled to Canada, USA, South America, Australia and India. Neither had jobs outside of gambling. Lee never denied killing Smith and offered to plead guilty to manslaughter on the first day of the trial – a move rejected by the prosecution. On the day she was killed, Lee testified that Smith had offered to sell him her ex-husband’s passport for $10,000. But on the day they met, after grabbing coffee together at a Northeast Starbucks, the two counted Lee’s cash, then Smith handed over a birth certificate instead of a passport, according to Lee’s testimony. He said he then tried to get out of the car with his money. Lee testified that he had a “split-second reaction” and grabbed Smith to prevent her from leaving with his money. The pair struggled and Lee had his arm around Smith’s neck. After 30 seconds, he was limping, he said.
Smith’s body in the mountains, Lee says
Lee said he carried Smith’s body to his Cadillac Escalade and, days later, drove it to the mountains near Banff or Canmore. He said he left the body wrapped in a tarp near a roadside rest stop. A week after Smith disappeared, the police came looking for Lee. They knew the pair had met for coffee on the day Smith was last seen alive. When he discovered that the police had knocked on his girlfriend’s door, Lee began destroying evidence. Chris Lee (a.k.a. Kevin Barton) is seen in this security camera image at a car wash in the North West, just after throwing a set of keys, later found to be Vida Smith’s, into the bushes. (Court Report) He cleaned out the back of his Escalade, threw away Smith’s car keys and threw away a homemade silencer that later tested positive for gunshot residue. Prosecutor Shane Parker suggested Lee shot Smith, a claim the killer denied. When he was arrested on July 29, police seized $44,000 in cash, five loaded guns, 1,000 rounds of ammunition, knives, masks and a set of handcuffs from Lee’s vehicle. Court of King’s Bench Justice Rosemary Nation will hear the sentencing of Parker, co-counsel William Tran and defense lawyer Cory Wilson next week.