B.C.鈥檚 top court has dismissed the appeal of a Bella Coola First Nation man convicted for the killing of his toddler cousin in the 1980s.

Phillip Tallio was 17 when he was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his 22-month-old cousin Delavina Mack, who court has heard had been sexually assaulted in a home in the northern community of Bella Coola.

Nine days into the trial, Tallio pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder.

Tallio, now 54, has said in court that he wasn鈥檛 aware of the implications of the plea agreement his trial lawyer had him sign when he was a teenager.

In 2017, B.C.鈥檚 Court of Appeal agreed to hear his case. He was released on bail in 2020, after spending 37 years behind bars.

More to come.

ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
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