Kenneth Skelly found guilty of 2nd-degree murder in killing of common-law wife Treasa Oberly

A jury has found Kenneth Skelly guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Treasa Oberly. CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson reports.

A jury has found Kenneth Skelly guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Treasa Oberly.

Oberly, who was Skelly’s common-law wife and the mother of his young son, went missing from her Beaumont home on July 14, 2023.

Her body was found near Whitecourt two weeks later.

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In his closing arguments, Kristofer Advent, the defence lawyer for Skelly, called for him to be convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter, telling the court the pair’s relationship had been a difficult one, but that Skelly had acted without thinking when he killed Oberly.

Advent told court that Skelly didn’t intend to kill Oberly, but hit her over the head after she threatened to have his kids taken away over a settlement cheque.

Crown prosecutor Christina Darosa said Skelly hated Oberly, a fact that was obvious in the way he spoke about her to police, adding he tried to justify her killing because she was “ruining his life.”

She said Skelly never told police he acted in the heat of the moment, and Skelly said he knew what would happen when he grabbed the weapon to strike Oberly.

Deliberations began on Wednesday afternoon in the trial. The jury read out their guilty verdict just before 7 p.m.

A second-degree murder charge does carry a life sentence with a minimum parole ineligibility of 10 years, but a judge will still have to decide how long that ineligibility is.

A sentence will be set at a later date that has not yet been specified.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Amanda Anderson