B.C. Court of Appeal upholds murder conviction for Vancouver Island prison escapee

William Head Institution is shown through a security fence in Victoria, B.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Lam

The British Columbia Court of Appeal has upheld the first-degree murder conviction of James Busch, who escaped from a Vancouver Island prison in 2019 with another inmate, then killed a man who lived near the institution.

Busch claimed on appeal that the trial judge didn’t properly instruct the jury involving a “narrow” issue, focusing on “his potential liability for aiding a planned and deliberate first-degree murder.”

Read more: Escaped inmate sentenced to life for ‘cold-blooded’ murder of Metchosin man

Canadian law allows for murder charges to be elevated to first-degree, even if killings are unplanned, when coupled with other offences such as unlawful confinement, which was at issue in the death of Martin Payne, 60.

Defence lawyer Ervin Ariaee said Friday that Busch was seeking a new trial, believing that his conviction as an “aider” to a constructive first-degree murder was “improper.”

“We’re very seriously considering seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada and we’re taking the first steps to try and get that process started,” Ariaee said.

Busch and fellow inmate Zachary Armitage escaped from William Head Institution, a minimum security prison near Victoria, on July 7, 2019, and Payne was murdered in his home the next day.

The Appeal Court ruling says Payne was found dead on his bathroom floor days later “in a pool of blood, with duct tape on his leg and arm.”

Armitage and Busch stole a truck after their escape, and the ruling says the vehicle’s owner noticed that a knife, a backpack and jacket were missing upon its return, which police located while investigating Payne’s murder.

Police found evidence on Payne’s home computer that someone had searched several terms on Google while Payne was at work on July 8, including “William Head Institution,” “private water taxi, Victoria B.C.,” and “Zachary Armitage.”

Phone records from Payne’s landline included calls to Armitage’s friends, and a recorded call to a Victoria water taxi company, and a corrections officer recognized Armitage’s voice on the recording.

Payne died from “multiple sharp wounds” to his head and neck, and Busch was arrested wearing a hat and backpack owned by the victim, while Armitage was wearing Payne’s boots.

Police also found other evidence, including bloody clothing with Busch’s DNA in garbage bags in Payne’s bedroom.

Armitage pleaded guilty to the killing, but Busch continued on with a trial that focused on whether he was involved in the murder to some degree, “if at all.”

A jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in 2022, but he appealed the conviction claiming the lower court judge gave improper instructions to the jury.

The three-judge panel dismissed the appeal Friday, finding the judge gave “well-structured and organized” jury instructions that boiled down complex legal concepts to be “easily understood,” rejecting Busch’s appeal that focused on “one narrow area” of jury instructions.

Ariaee said he couldn’t comment on his client’s thoughts or feelings about Friday’s ruling, but he said Busch “does maintain his innocence and he does believe that this appeal has merit.”

“When we make appeals on errors in law, it’s very important that these appeals are brought forward because it ensures that the law is properly followed,” he said. “Appeals always have a much broader implication to them and a much broader benefit to society generally.”

This report by Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press, was first published April 11, 2025.