A Calgary jury is deliberating one of the province's most serious violent crimes after prosecutors laid out their case Thursday that two men are responsible for a fatal shooting on a rural Alberta highway last summer.
Arthur Penner, 37, and Elijah Strawberry, 29, face second-degree murder charges in connection with the August 6, 2024 death of Colin Hough, a Rocky View County employee. Both men have pleaded not guilty to the murder charge and two counts of armed robbery.
A Violent Chain of Events
The Crown's case centres on a brazen roadside attack that unfolded in broad daylight east of Calgary. Matthew Andres, a power company worker, was shot in the arm when the men arrived in a vehicle. He testified he was threatened repeatedly with a gun pointed at his head before managing to escape.
The truck the suspects were driving was then set on fire.
When Hough arrived at the scene moments later, he was shot three times. Video footage from a nearby transport truck driver captured his final moments—a figure moving across the intersection before collapsing in the middle of the road. His vehicle was later found abandoned.
Building the Crown's Case
Prosecutor Photini Papadatou presented jurors with what she called a 2,000-piece puzzle during closing arguments. "When you examine all the evidence as a whole, you must ask yourself, 'Are there any other reasonable explanations?'" she told the jury.
"It's a circumstantial case of identity and it's the Crown's position that the offences before you involve two shooters, two guns, two stolen vehicles, two robberies, one death and both these men are responsible."
Physical evidence recovered at the scene included a .45-calibre bullet found where Hough collapsed and a nine-millimetre shell casing discovered near where Andres was wounded, suggesting multiple firearms were used during the attack.
The Investigation and Arrest
Penner was arrested five days after the shooting. Strawberry eluded police for a month before being located hiding in a residence on the O'Chiese First Nation.
The Crown argues that both men fired weapons during the attack and that their actions, taken together, constitute second-degree murder.
The defence has not diminished the gravity of Hough's death or the suffering of his family and loved ones, according to Penner's lawyer Alexandra Seaman, as the jury prepares to render its verdict.
This article is based on reporting from Global Calgary.