A B.C. mother has been found guilty of obstruction of justice for repairing her son's SUV after it was allegedly involved in a hit-and-run that left a man dead.
Allyne Fitzgerald was convicted in B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday following the February 2006 death of 21-year-old Robert Staines. She was working as a nurse at the time of the collision.
Two years ago, Crown counsel in the same court stayed three charges against Fitzgerald's son, James High, without giving a reason.
Staines's body was found by a person out for an early morning walk in Coquitlam on Begin Street, although investigators believe he was hit in the 800-block of Brunette Avenue.
Staines's mother Jocelyn said outside the court that her son was only being a responsible person the night he was killed.
"I had asked Rob never ever to drink and drive. He listened to me -- he had been drinking so he was walking," she said.
The discovery of Staines's body triggered a lengthy investigation that led to Coquitlam RCMP arresting High and Fitzgerald.
Investigators believe that Staines's body remained on High's vehicle, which did not stop, until it became dislodged on Begin Street.
"What kind of people can leave somebody on the side of the road without knowing is he dead or alive? How could you just leave some body on the side of the road?" Staines's mother asked.
High's SUV ended up parked in Fitzgerald's garage. Two witnesses in her trial said they saw it with a smashed windshield and damage to the driver's side.
During the trial, Crown lawyers told the court that the vehicle was taken for $5,000 worth of repairs at a body shop. Fitzgerald paid in cash as part of a private contract.
In his decision, Judge James Williams said he believed that Fitzgerald knew there was a police investigation underway when she arranged to have the vehicle repaired, and that she tried to dissuade two witnesses in the case from speaking to police.
The maximum possible sentence for Fitzgerald is 10 years in prison.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Maria Weisgarber
