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Surrey man convicted in wife's murder wants to appeal the decision

The B.C. Court of Appeal and B.C. Supreme Court is pictured in Vancouver on Tuesday, May 25, 2021. The B.C. Court of Appeal and B.C. Supreme Court is pictured in Vancouver on Tuesday, May 25, 2021.
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A man convicted of his wife's murder is trying to appeal the decision more than three years after her death.

Rizig Bona was charged with second-degree murder after his wife's body was found in the couple's basement apartment in Surrey in October 2018.

Anida Magaya was 42.

Bona, two years older, was convicted by a jury as charged following a seven-week trial, during which a written admission was filed.

He told the court their relationship was "not free from conflict," and suggested self-defence and provocation be considered by the jury.

According to testimony presented in court, police had to use a battering ram to get into the apartment on 110 Avenue, and a machete and baseball bat were found near Magaya's body.

He was found guilty by jurors who rejected the possible defences, and was sentenced to 11 years in jail before being eligible for parole.

Last spring, Bona filed a notice of appeal of both his conviction and his sentence. In the notice, he suggested the judge erred when giving instructions to the jury about circumstantial evidence.

According to court documents, he also said the verdict was "unreasonable" and accused his counsel of being "ineffective."

He said his legal team failed to follow his instructions, and didn't prepare him enough for trial and the presentation of his defence.

But his push for funding for the appeal was rejected in August by the Legal Services Society. Reasons for this are unclear, but described by Justice Richard Goepel in a hearing Monday as "non-financial."

Now, Bona is asking the court to appoint a lawyer or lawyers to make a case for his appeal.

That decision has yet to be made. Justice Goepel made a "limited appointment" on Tuesday, but only for counsel to assess the merits of the case.

In order to appoint counsel to represent Bona in an appeal, it must be proven that the accused can't pay for his own legal assistance, a requirement already met, and that the case is in the "interests of justice."

The first steps to determining the latter will be to go over the points that would be argued on appeal, as well as the complexity of the case and Bona's competency to present his appeal, among other factors.

If the counsel deems the case does have merit, a legal team may be appointed to take the case to the B.C. Court of Appeal.

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