Murder trial set for November for inmates who escaped Victoria-area prison

The trial of two inmates who are accused of murdering a man while on the lam from federal prison near Victoria in 2019 is set to begin this fall in Vancouver.

Zachary Armitage and James Lee Busch are both charged with the first-degree murder of Martin Payne, a 60-year-old Metchosin, B.C., man who was found dead in his home near the prison in July 2019.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin on Oct. 6, with the trial set to commence in B.C. Supreme Court on Nov. 14, according to the B.C. Prosecution Service.

Armitage and Busch escaped from William Head Institution on the evening of July 7, 2019, prompting a region-wide manhunt.

The pair were arrested approximately 48 hours later after commenting on a man's dog while walking together in Esquimalt, B.C., on July 9, 2019.

The dog walker, an off-duty RCMP homicide detective, recognized the men as the escaped prisoners and called Victoria police, who arrested them.

Earlier that afternoon, Payne's red Ford F-150 pickup truck was found abandoned on Woodburn Avenue in Oak Bay, B.C.

His body was discovered three days later on July 12, 2019, when police were sent to his Brookview Drive home – approximately seven kilometres from the prison – to check on him after he failed to show up for work.

Multiple police agencies, led by the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit, investigated Payne's death for nearly a year before announcing the charges against Armitage and Busch in June 2020.

"Marty was deeply loved by his tight circle of friends and family and we have continued to mourn his senseless loss every day for the past 11 months," the family said in its statement when the charges were announced.

"The man who was taken from us was an exceptionally gentle and caring human being whose love, support, and encouragement were unfailing," the family said.

Both Busch and Armitage were violent offenders at the time of their escape.

Busch, then 42 years old, was serving an indeterminate sentence for second-degree murder and assault, and was also serving time for aggravated sexual assault and escape from custody.

Armitage, who was 30 years old and had also previously escaped from custody, was serving a nearly 14-year sentence for robbery, aggravated assault and other offences.

The Correctional Service of Canada launched a review of every inmate in minimum-security custody across the country in the wake of the escape.

The review led the department to reclassify 14 minimum-security offenders and move them to medium-security prisons.

Nine of the 14 inmates who the correctional service found to be misclassified were at William Head, including Armitage and Busch.