‘An execution, plain and simple': man who killed neighbour sentenced to life
A Manitoba man convicted of murdering a neighbour allegedly caught stealing from him on his rural property has been sentenced to mandatory life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
Eric Wildman, 38, was convicted of first-degree murder following a jury trial earlier this year for the June 2021 killing of 40-year-old Clifford Joseph.
'The facts are horrific and whatever version of facts the jury accepted, it amounts to an execution, plain and simple,' said King's Bench Justice Rick Saull.
JASON PARKS / PICTON GAZETTE FILES
Eric Wildman leaves the Picton, Ont. Superior Courthouse in November 2024, where he was found guilty of attempted murder of an Ontario police officer prior to his first-degree murder conviction in Manitoba.
Wildman's sentencing was adjourned following the February jury verdict in part for the preparation of victim impact statements, but none were ultimately provided to court.
Wildman and Joseph lived on neighbouring properties near Stead, about 90 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.
Prosecutors argued Wildman caught Joseph stealing a winch from his property in the early hours of June 7, ran him down with his vehicle, breaking his jaw, leg and ribs, then moved him to a bushy area a few kilometres away, where he shot him at least two times, including once in the back of the head.
Wildman called RCMP from his mother's Winnipeg home on June 9 and claimed that on the night of Joseph's disappearance, he had been staying at a friend's home, a claim the friend later refuted, jurors heard.
Investigators found Wildman's Chevrolet Impala outside another friend's house in Winnipeg. Inside the car, police found an empty gun case and a receipt from an auto parts store dated June 9, where jurors heard Wildman had purchased a hood and replaced it in the parking lot. Prosecutors alleged Wildman replaced the hood to cover up the damage that occurred when he ran over Joseph.
After RCMP towed Wildman's vehicle, he called Mounties from his mother's home to report a handgun missing from his Stead property. Prosecutors allege Wildman knew police would have found the gun case in his car and claimed it was stolen to divert suspicion.
SUPPLIED
Clifford Joseph, 40, was killed by his neighbour in June 2021 in what a judge described as a horrific execution.
Police told him he was a suspect in Joseph's killing and to stay where he was. Instead, Wildman took a taxi to the airport, rented a car and drove to Belleville, Ont., where police arrested him June 18.
Jurors were not given details about Wildman's arrest, which came after he shot at police who were executing an arrest warrant at the home where Wildman was staying. Last November, an Ontario jury convicted Wildman of one count each of attempted murder and possession of a restricted firearm with readily available ammunition. He was sentenced in March to 10 years in prison
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Wildman testified at the Ontario trial, claiming he thought police were home invaders and that he was protecting himself.
'If ever there was post-offence conduct that would suggest somebody's… guilty of the charges, this is pretty convincing,' Crown attorney Chris Vanderhooft told Saull on Monday. 'It's as if the murder wasn't bad enough, he could have killed police officers, too.'
Wildman's Ontario sentence will effectively be served concurrent to his murder sentence and have no impact on when he is eligible for parole, court heard. Wildman will be eligible for parole in June 2046.
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES
After Manitoba police told Wildman he was a suspect in Joseph's death, Wildman fled to Ontario, where he was ultimately arrested.
Wildman first stood trial for Joseph's killing in 2023, but it ended in a mistrial after defence lawyer Martin Glazer fell ill and was unable to continue.
dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca
Dean PritchardCourts reporter
Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean.
Every piece of reporting Dean produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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