W5 EXCLUSIVE: Canadian man declared guilty of murdering girlfriend in Mexico, lawyer maintains innocence

A turn in the case of Kiara Agnew, beaten to death at a resort in 2023, after her boyfriend Ryan Friesen was initially found not guilty. Avery Haines reports.

The full W5 Avery Haines Investigates documentary If I’m Ever Found Dead premieres Saturday at 7 p.m. on CTV, Crave and our CTV News YouTube channel.

Ryan Friesen, a Canadian man at the heart of a W5 investigation, has been declared guilty by a Mexican magistrate of killing his girlfriend, Kiara Agnew, at five-star resort in March 2023. His lawyer, in a Saturday statement to CTV News, maintains he is innocent.

Kiara was found beaten to death in a resort laundry room, with Ryan sleeping next to her dead body.

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Ryan was immediately arrested and charged with her killing at the time, but was found not guilty in September 2024 after a judge-only trial.

Kiara’s family learned of the decision being overturned by the independent magistrate earlier today after being notified by Global Affairs Canada.

“... The verdict was overturned by the judge, however, I am also learning that the lawyers of the accused have placed an ‘amparo’ on this decision. My understanding is that the amparo is a mechanism that allows a person to challenge the judge’s decision,” a GAC consulate case management officer wrote to Kiara’s parents, Michele and Trevor.

W5 has learned that the process of Ryan’s appeal will be concluded within months and that he will remain in Canada until the resolution of his appeal.

Ryan’s lawyers are appealing the decision. He faces up to 50 years in jail in Mexico if the appeal is unsuccessful.

“Ryan remains committed to defending his innocence,” reads a statement from Denise Brunsdon, a partner with Bennett Jones LLP.

“The past two years have been a tremendously challenging and emotional time for Ryan, his family, and Kiara’s family, including Kiara’s mom, who supports Ryan’s innocence. Despite his acquittal based on exculpatory DNA evidence, Ryan is once again being forced to defend his innocence for a crime he did not commit,” the statement continues.

Brunsdon also wrote that Ryan himself would not provide further comment, citing the ongoing investigation and “misinformation being deliberately spread through unfair coverage.” The statement, in its entirety, is included at the bottom of this article.

‘Ryan Friesen murdered Kiara Agnew’

Kiara’s aunt, Tanya, who has long been a driving force in organizing protests across Canada to bring Kiara’s killer to justice, spoke to W5 in an interview shortly after learning of Ryan being declared guilty.

“Now we can say, Ryan Friesen murdered Kiara Agnew. We can say that. And that’s powerful in itself because we have been muted and threatened,” Tanya said.

“And now we don’t have to say ‘allegedly’ or ‘in our belief,’ we can now say ‘Ryan Friesen murdered Kiara Agnew.’ And that is such a powerful statement. And I’m so proud to be able to say it.”

Tanya added that she feels like her niece can now peacefully rest.

“We have been fighting for justice for Kiara, and we achieved it,” she said.

“I hope we are a message to any other family going through this, never give up, even when people say it’s impossible. Don’t you ever give up on your people.”

The couple, from Dawson Creek, B.C., had travelled to the Grand Sunset Princess Hotel in Playa del Carmen to celebrate her 24th birthday.

Hours later, Kiara was beaten to death. When the couple was found in the laundry room by a resort cleaner, Ryan was covered in blood with swollen fists and bruises.

DNA evidence

At Ryan’s trial, his lawyers argued that DNA evidence under Kiara’s fingernails indicated an unknown male’s DNA was identified, and his was not present.

They also argued that the injuries suffered by Kiara were so severe, they could not have been caused by a single attacker.

W5 asked Dave Perry, the Chairman of Investigative Solutions Network and a former Toronto Police Service homicide investigator, to review photos of both Ryan and Kiara’s injuries.

“All of her injuries are supportive of somebody that was beaten horribly. And his injuries would match that kind of an attack,” said Perry.

“The level of the violence by an angry partner is probably some of the worst violence I’ve ever seen. And this doesn’t surprise me in terms of the level of violence. It’s actually in keeping with a lot of domestic homicides that I’ve seen over the years.”

Ryan claimed it was the cartel

In an interview with W5, Kiara’s stepfather said Ryan claimed the cartel had killed her.

The Sinaloa Cartel has a firm grip on the territory surrounding the Grand Sunset Princess Hotel in Playa del Carmen. Local businesses must pay a so-called “cartel tax” to be able to operate in their territory. Refusal to do so can result in robberies, vandalism, assaults, kidnappings, or murder.

To test Ryan’s claims whether the cartel might be responsible for Kiara’s murder, W5 met face-to-face with a long-standing member of the Sinaloa cartel on a rooftop in Playa Del Carmen.

“The cartel have the control of everything,” Alberto, whose real identity is concealed, said in an interview with W5.

When asked about Ryan’s claims that Kiara was targeted in order to send a message to the resort, he denied it.

“No, no, no, that’s a lie. That’s a lie. The cartel don’t get in the hotels. And I know that story... That’s a lie… The cartel had nothing to do with that,” said Alberto.

Alberto didn’t deny that there is a tax or cartel violence in the area but added that tourists are only harmed if they are caught in the crossfire or doing business with the cartel.

He said that when cartels want to send a message, it’s very public, not on a resort in a laundry room in the middle of the night.

PART 1: Not-guilty verdict in murder of Canadian may be overturned

PART 2: Canadian at centre of girlfriend’s murder mystery in Mexico makes first public statement after verdict

PART 3: Did a cartel kill this young Canadian woman? W5 investigates a murder mystery

Lawyer’s statement

Ryan Friesen’s lawyer, Bennett Jones LLP partner Denise Brunsdon, provided this statement to CTV News:

“In September 2024, Ryan Friesen was acquitted of the murder of his girlfriend Kiara Agnew following a trial in Quintana Roo that included robust evidence and independent expert testimony in defense of Ryan and accepted by the Court. In mid-December 2025, a single appellate judge in Mexico overturned the acquittal, without hearing directly from any witnesses or experts.

“Ryan remains committed to defending his innocence – including based on clear DNA evidence – and an appeal of the December 2025 decision has already been filed to the further Mexican appeals court (Amparo), where a panel of 3 federal judges will now review the case.

“The past two years have been a tremendously challenging and emotional time for Ryan, his family, and Kiara’s family, including Kiara’s mom, who supports Ryan’s innocence. Despite his acquittal based on exculpatory DNA evidence, Ryan is once again being forced to defend his innocence for a crime he did not commit.

“Due to the ongoing legal proceedings in Mexico, as well as the misinformation being deliberately spread through unfair coverage biased toward uninformed allegations by one-half of Kiara’s family, Ryan will not be providing further comment.”