Nelson Lugela guilty of murder in death of former Calgary Stampeder

CALGARY – A judge has found Nelson Lugela guilty of second-degree murder in the slaying of a Calgary Stampeders football player.

Lugela, 21, was charged after Mylan Hicks was killed outside the Marquee Beer Market in Calgary in September 2016.

(The mother of Mylan Hicks speaks to media after the verdict was reached. PHOTO: CityNews)

 

The victim’s mother, Renee Hill, asked Lugela why he killed her son and says the verdict doesn’t make her feel much better.

“There is no closure,” she said outside of court Monday after the verdict was read. “I want everybody to know. I want the world to know. When you lose your child, don’t use the term ‘closure’. To expect closure is like closing them out. You’ll never close them out, and I’ll never close him out. There is no closure.”

Hill broke down in tears throughout the judge’s decision. She will get her chance to address Lugela at a sentencing hearing at the end of May. She says forgiveness might be a problem.

“I’m angry. If that emotion subsides any time soon, I’ll use words to build that killer up, as opposed to tearing that killer down. Because if that killer ever gets free, and I hope he doesn’t, right now I say that, and he has the capacity, the mindset, I believe, to repeat what he did to my son.”

WATCH: Friend testifies in Lugela trial

The judge said he is confident beyond a reasonable doubt that Lugela was the killer.

READ MORE: ‘A matter of principle:’ Family of slain CFL player files lawsuit against bar

The trial was told that several Stampeders, including Hicks, had been celebrating a victory over Winnipeg in a game hours earlier.

A disagreement over a spilled drink in the bar intensified after closing time in the parking lot.

Witnesses testified that after some pushing and shoving, a person who appeared to be holding a handgun opened fire at Hicks as he was running for cover.

The 23-year-old was hit twice, in the abdomen and chest, and died in hospital.

Lugela will be sentenced on May 10. He faces a minimum of 10 years in prison without parole.

WATCH: Emotional testimonies in trial for murdered Stamps player

-With files from CityNews