Judge dismisses Fredericton woman's bid to appeal murder conviction

A New Brunswick appeal court judge has shut down a Fredericton woman's efforts to have her murder conviction overturned.

Clark Greene was murdered at a gazebo in Fredericton's Wilmot Park by Angela Walsh and Zachery Murphy. (Clark Ernest Greene/Facebook )

Justice Raymond French dismissed a motion this week by Angela Walsh, seeking an extension of time to appeal her second-degree murder conviction for killing Clark Greene in April 2020.

"In view of the record, the intended appeal cannot be said to give rise to a serious issue to be appealed," said French, in his written reasons, issued this week.

Greene's beaten and stabbed body was found near a gazebo in Wilmot Park on the morning of April 15, 2020.

Walsh was charged with first-degree murder in his killing, but pleaded guilty to a lesser second-degree murder charge and was sentenced in June to life in prison with no chance of parole for 13 years.

Zachery Murphy, her boyfriend and accomplice, had earlier pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 11 years.

Walsh's reasons for appeal

Walsh missed her 30-day window to file an appeal, and in her handwritten motion for an extension said she had no knowledge there was a deadline for filing an appeal.

She also wrote why she thinks she should be granted the extension, saying she should have been convicted of manslaughter and that she's trying to get "a lesser sentence."

"I believe that this crime was an unintentional one as it was only supposed to be a robbery, but it went wrong and someone, regrettably, lost their life in the process," Walsh wrote.

"I feel horrible, ashamed, sad, disgusted with myself and guilty that a crime of this nature had occurred."

Clark Greene's body was found near a gazebo in Wilmot Park on April 15, 2020. (CBC)

Walsh also wrote there were issues with the evidence at her trial in January 2023, which lasted just three days, before she ultimately pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

Walsh claimed the evidence wrongly asserted she has a driver's licence and that a witness in the trial wrongly testified to knowing her for 10 years, when he only knew her for three.

She also claimed she never gave a statement to police prior to her arrest and took issue with evidence that she's ambidextrous, when she claims she's only right-handed.

Judge's reasons for dismissal

In his decision, French said Walsh's conviction rests on her guilty plea and admission to the essential elements of the offence.

"Her intended appeal does not challenge the validity of the plea, either directly or indirectly," French said.

French also said Walsh appeared to be conflating the concepts of "planned and deliberate" for the purpose of first-degree murder and the required intent for murder.

French said that for second-degree murder, the Crown had to prove that Walsh meant to either cause Greene's death or cause him bodily harm

French said that intent was recognized in Court of King's Bench Justice Kathryn Gregory's sentencing decision for Walsh, in which she described her actions as "an absolutely savage unleashing of violence on Mr. Greene."

French also addressed the claims by Walsh regarding erroneous evidence, dismissing them as having no basis for a serious issue on appeal.

"The facts identified by Ms. Walsh all relate to peripheral matters, none of which have any bearing on the requisite intent for second-degree murder," French wrote.