Jury deliberating in the James Scordino murder trial

UPDATE:  After two days of deliberations the jury in the James Scordino trial found him guilty of first degree murder on March 8th.

WARNING: Some of the following details are graphic in nature

A jury in Milton has been deliberating since Wednesday on whether Fort Erie man James Scordino is guilty of the first-degree murder in the death of 56-year-old Angela Skorulski in 2017.

The two knew each other from the elevator business. Both were being sued by the University of Toronto, and Skorulski had a counter claim against Scordino.

Police uncovered deleted messages that suggest Scordino asked to see Skorulski in person on February 13, 2017, to give her a letter that would absolve her of wrongdoing. It read in part: “I double-billed, I falsified invoices, I ordered parts not required and Angela didn’t know about this.”

The crown says the letter was a ruse and Scordino was planning to murder Skorulski to help his chances in the $1.5 million lawsuit.

Surveillance footage from the woman’s Oakville apartment shows the last time she was seen alive.

Her body was not found for weeks, and she never used her phone, computer or did any banking after Feb 13. Her last messages were to Scordino.

She was shot at five times with one bullet going through the window and another into the floor. The court heard a bullet had grazed her head, another went through her cheek. The last shot detectives believe was fired with the gun pressed against the back of her head.

Police searched Modern Elevator in Hamilton, where Scordino worked. They found a revolver registered to Scordino’s grandfather tucked into a ceiling tile and Skorulski’s DNA was on the gun. They also found a bag of clothes stained with Skorulski’s blood, and match the clothes Scordino was wearing on February 13.

Skorulski was still wearing her February 13 outfit when her body was found.