Killer of Hillsborough woman appeals conviction as sentencing set for June

A southeastern New Brunswick man is appealing his second-degree murder conviction before being sentenced for the crime. 

Calvin Andrew Lewis was found guilty in February of killing Tina Tingley-McAleer in May 2020.

Court of King's Bench Justice Robert Dysart found Lewis guilty following a trial by judge alone that began last year in Moncton.

On Friday, Lewis appeared in court again by phone with lawyers. Dysart scheduled the sentencing hearing for June 13.

"We're all on the same page now that we'll proceed with the sentencing hearing on June 13," Dysart said.

The lengthy delay is because the judge and lawyers representing Lewis are involved in a separate murder trial starting in April that's scheduled to last eight weeks.

Lewis stabbed Tingley-McAleer 32 times in their Hillsborough home south of Moncton on May 2, 2020. 

The verdict hinged on whether Lewis's actions that day were provoked by the victim. During the trial, Lewis testified that he believed Tingley-McAleer was going to kill him.

Provocation is a partial defence that, if accepted by the judge, would have reduced his blameworthiness and resulted in a conviction of manslaughter. Dysart ruled the defence did not apply. 

Lewis filed a notice of appeal with the New Brunswick Court of Appeal on Feb. 8, five days after he was convicted. The handwritten grounds of appeal references being "provoked into my actions."

It's unclear if or when the Court of Appeal will hear the case.