By Canadian Press

Former CFL player Joshua Boden to be sentenced for second-degree murder

Jun 24, 2022 | 1:08 AM

VANCOUVER — A former Canadian Football League wide receiver convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend is expected to be sentenced in B.C. Supreme Court today.  

Joshua Boden was found guilty last fall of second-degree murder in the 2009 death of 33-year-old Kimberly Hallgarth in the Burnaby, B.C., home she shared with her three-year-old daughter.

Crown prosecutor Brendan McCabe told the court during a sentencing hearing last week that Boden, who is now 35, viciously beat Hallgarth, choked her to death and then staged the scene to make it look like an accident.

McCabe called the murder “blunt, brutal and horrific,” saying photos of Hallgarth’s injuries were the most shocking he’d seen in his career.

The conviction is a life sentence, but the judge needs to set the term for parole, which the Crown says should be 15 years while Boden’s lawyer asked for 12 years. 

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Boden played for the B.C. Lions in 2007 before being released from the team in 2008 and signing with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, although he never played a regular-season game with that team before he was cut.

McCabe told the court Hallgarth sent photos of her injuries from a previous assault by Boden to then Lions coach Wally Buono, and Boden blamed her for ending his football career.

He has maintained his innocence in her death.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2022.

The Canadian Press