First-degree murder appeal dismissed for man who killed Richard Fernuk
The appeal judges said no legal errors were made when Leo Daniels was convicted of tying Fernuk to a chair with cords around his neck.
by Bre McAdam · Saskatoon StarPhoenixThe Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has dismissed a Saskatoon man’s appeal to overturn his first-degree murder conviction.
Leo Roy Daniels was found guilty in September 2022 after a judge-alone trial at Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench. He received the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment with no chance of parole for 25 years.
Daniels appealed his murder conviction on two grounds. He argued the trial judge failed to consider the defence of intoxication, and didn’t give reasons for believing he intended to kill Richard Fernuk, a 68-year-old father and grandfather who was found dead in his Exhibition neighbourhood apartment on Aug. 3, 2019.