A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has sentenced Zachary Armitage to life in prison without chance of parole for 25 years for the “grotesque” first-degree murder of Martin Payne at his home on Vancouver Island.
Justice David Crossin says the killing in July 2019 was “senseless” and “absolutely cowardly, without qualification.”
Co-defendant James Lee Busch’s trial in November heard that he and Armitage escaped William Head prison and waited for their 60-year-old victim at his Metchosin home before they killed him.
Busch was found guilty at trial, while Armitage changed his plea and admitted to first-degree murder.
Just before he was sentenced, Armitage turned to Payne’s family in the courtroom to apologize, saying he was “disgusted” with himself and the pain he had caused….